Bleed for Me
by corsetobsession
Summary: After the defeat of Ultimecia, Rinoa has disappeared. Five years later Squall reluctantly calls for her help, for something is killing the Sorceresses, and only she can stop it. M for swearing, gore, and later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Final Fantasy VIII or the characters. I just own the story written here. And title belongs to Saliva.

**Full Summary: **Not long after Ultimecia's defeat, Rinoa disappears, leaving behind a confused and angered Squall. Five years later, a new evil is on the rise and Squall is forced to take aid from Rinoa who has now honed her full sorceress powers.

It's my first so enjoy! …hopefully? And reviews let me know if I suck or not so if you please, just not anything TOO mean.

**Bleed for Me**

Everything was so blissful after the passionate kiss he and Rinoa had shared on the balcony the night they'd announced their victory over Ultimecia. Even with Irvine and Selphie at the doors, cursing the fact that they could no longer record the rare instance of Squall showing intimacy, nothing seemed out of place or awkward. He was in love, and he didn't give two shits about who saw.

They all had emerged from the final battle alive with only a few battle wounds as badges for their triumph. Quistis had a broken nose, Irvine a sprained ankle and dislocated shoulder, Zell a broken collar bone, and Selphie a fractured wrist. Rinoa had only fractured two ribs, several rows of gashes across her front when Griever slashed at her.

Squall was proud to announce he left with his life. After he'd gotten lost in time for god knew how long, he collapsed in exhaustion, his heart stopping in result to the strain. If Rinoa hadn't found him...he would have been lost forever.

Everyone was alive. Everyone was well. Just about everything was going perfectly.

Until she left.

Barely even two months after their victorious return, Rinoa was nowhere to be found. The day after the banquet, Garden landed back to its home, and the happy couple moved into a small one bedroom apartment in Balamb. For the few weeks they spent together and lived in sin, madly making love every night, celebrating their success, and having blatant fun teenagers had. Their whole group hung out more after the injuries had healed, and Squall became more playful and talkative without losing his 'hardass' mystique.

But then Squall came home one night after training some new SeeD recruits. He unlocked the door, expecting to find Rinoa lounging in the living room with Angelo as she always did. But it was empty. He immediately went to the bedroom and found her side of the closet empty, her weapons gone from the cabinet. As he dialed her cell phone a wave of dread washed over him as he heard the familiar jingle on the bed behind him. Beneath the glowing phone was a slip of paper and he greedily snatched it up, his eyes scanning over the short reply. _I'm sorry._

Squall had nothing to do other than to sit on the bed, his head in his hand as he continuously read over the two words written in Rinoa's handwriting. And even after he finally regained his breath and called the rest of the group, they were all distraught and confused as he was to learn of Rinoa's sudden departure.

No one knew she was leaving. No one knew why. And as Squall inquired every taxi and rental business, ferrymen, and workers at the train station, no one had seen her leave. She had taken her clothes, her weapons, her makeup, and her dog. Left behind was her phone and the odd blue duster she wore. And as Squall ventured to the bathroom to take a shower, he found his ring nestled safely beside the sink, still looped inside the chain.


	2. Chapter 2

**5 years later…**

Sweat bordered his brow as he furiously unleashed rounds of jabs at the punching bag. His knuckles bled despite the leather gloves that were supposed to prevent any injury. Squall's arms ripped from the movements and the clenching of muscles as he continuously beat the living shit out of the poor sand-filled back.

Quistis watched him from the doorway, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed as she sighed. She knew exactly what would happen. In about five minutes the punching bag would give, sand would fly everywhere and Squall would grumble about buying a new one. Sighing, she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and turned away from the room.

As she fumbled through the kitchen, trying her best to tidy things up, she heard the explosion of sand and Squall's swearing. Quistis shook her head, scrubbing at the dishes and stealing a quick glance at the clock. _Only about two minutes this time…_

Squall emerged from the room, removing his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He gave a brief nod to Quistis before yanking open the fridge door to capture a water bottle.

"What would you like to do for your birthday this year?" Quistis asked, carefully sliding the clean dish into a slot in the dishwasher. "It's coming up you know."

Squall quickly swallowed the rest of the water, his throat pulsating with every movement. "Really. I hadn't noticed." He tossed the water bottle into the recycling bin and headed for the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower."

Quistis nodded and flopped herself onto the couch, snatching the remote and flipping through the channels. With a groan of defeat she found nothing and flipped onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. A knock on the door roused her and she practically jumped to open it, excited that there was at least something entertaining in store.

"Hey love!" Selphie kissed her swiftly on the cheek, making her way to the couch with Irvine not too far behind her. As he attempted to kiss Quistis as well he was welcomed by her knee gently pressing his groin with a sweet smile on her lips.

"I wouldn't try it," she said softly.

Irvine nervously laughed and pulled away. "Yeah I should know better than to try and kiss Squall's girl. I know."

Zell came in behind him, rolling his eyes. "What's up Quis?"

Quistis motioned for him to sit on the couch and closed the door. "Squall's in the shower," she explained after noticing them looking around for him. "So his birthday is in two weeks, what are we doing?"

Irvine looped his arm around Selphie's shoulders and shrugged. "I'm not sure anything can top off last year's birthday," he said with a grin. "I've never seen Leonhart puke so much in one hour."

"That's because he drank three times as much as the rest of us," Zell said, lacing his fingers behind his head. "And we all drank a shit load that night."

Selphie nodded, crossing her legs and straightening her skirt. "I don't think I've seen so many empty bottles like that night."

"We spent so much money," Quistis laughed, remembering how her eyes bulged out at the sight of her credit card bill. "But it was his twenty-one, and you only get those once so splurging was our only option."

Zell scoffed. "This coming from the broad who had one martini on her twenty-first." He quickly dodged Quistis' foot with a grin.

"No one else was twenty-one, I didn't have much of a choice."

Selphie giggled. "You could have gone with Seifer!"

Quistis gagged and pretended to die of shock. "Fuck that!"

The roar of laughter subsided as Squall emerged from the bathroom, the black towel wrapped around his waist. He ran his hands through his wet hair as he nodded to the group in his living room.

"Hey Squall!" Selphie beamed; Irvine and Zell motioning two fingers in a salute to him.

Squall smirked at how Quistis' jaw dropped and he motioned for her to follow. "Um…be right back," she whispered as she hopped to her feet.

"Yeah right!" Irvine shouted. "We'll be outside, we don't' have time to hear fuckin moans and shit." He was too busy talking shit that he didn't notice Quistis throwing her boot at him.

Quistis laughed as she heard the front door slam shut, silence filling the living room. She closed the bedroom door behind her, smiling as Squall beckoned her. "Dry yourself off first, I don't' want to get all wet."

Squall ignored her request and cornered her by the door, his arms surrounding her like thick columns of flesh. She squealed in protest as he madly shook his hair, sending beads of water attacking her face. Quickly he silenced her screams with his hot mouth over hers, his wet body pressed against hers.

Suddenly a piercing ring interrupted them and he reluctantly grabbed his phone. "Hello?" He tried not to falter as Quistis undid his towel, a mischievous grin among her lips as she teased him. "It's Cid," he told her after covering the mouth piece.

"Consider this payback because you did the same to me last week," she whispered, slowly kissing his stomach in a neat line heading south.

Squall growled and continued talking to Cid. "I'm sorry could you repeat that?"

"You need to come to Garden _now_, Squall," Cid repeated, his voice frantic and high pitched in worry.

"What's going on?" Squall grabbed Quistis' ponytail and lifted her away from his groin. He shook his head as the question lay in her eyes. "Fine we'll be right there," he responded when Cid just continued in ordering him to get over there. "We have to get to Garden," Squall said as he made his way to the dresser.

Quistis removed her shirt, searching for a dry one. "What's going on?"

Squall shrugged. "He wouldn't tell me anything other than that we needed to get our asses over there now."

Squall walked before the headmaster, confusion set in his jaw as Cid stood to his feet. "What's going on?" he demanded; the rest of the group behind him.

Cid slowly pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Edea's dying," came his hushed response.

Everyone jumped at the answer. "What?!" Selphie screamed, covering her lips with her fingers.

Cid sat back down in his seat, tears streaming from the corner of his eyes. "Something is happening, something is killing the sorceresses."

"But Matron is no longer a sorceress," Squall said.

"But she _was_ one. And the other women and girls who are dying, they are ones who would have inherited sorceress powers." Cid leaned back against his chair, wiping away the tears. "There are many sorceresses, but only a few who are powerful. So far no one who is currently a sorceress is ill but some have been contained for inspection."

Zell scratched his head, trying to stay strong for Matron. "What's causing this?"

"It's in their blood," Cid whispered. "A woman chosen to be a sorceress is not chosen at random, they are all descendants of Hyne. They all have her blood. For centuries there have been sorceresses who could not handle their blood and grow weak and die, but it was in minimal numbers. Nothing like what is happening now has happened before."

Squall stepped up. "_All_ the sorceresses are dying?"

Cid and the others looked at him. Quistis lowered her eyes after seeing the worry etched in his face. It was obvious he was concerned for one specific sorceress.

Cid shook his head. "We don't know if they are all infected, we're still investigating it." He cleared his throat and mindlessly rummaged through his papers. "Garden has requested the aid of the most powerful sorceress at current." Carefully he looked at Squall over the rims of his glasses. "If it is alright with you of course, Commander."

Squall straightened his spine, cold seeping into his pores as he guessed who the sorceress was. "Why would my permission be needed, it is your judgment as headmaster and my role to follow it through."

Quistis took a deep breath and stared at her shoes, listening to Squall try his damndest to prove he didn't give a shit if it was Rinoa. Selphie supportively took her hand and squeezed.

Cid let out an exasperated sigh and stood to his feet once more. "She is here, granting us her aid and knowledge if we may protect her in exchange. Though I don't see how she needs protection, she has grown rather strong. Squall, I expect you allow her help and bid her every whim, she may be our only chance."

Squall nodded solemnly. "I understand."

"Good. Edea is in the infirmary if you all would wish to visit. Squall, you shall visit another time for you are to meet with the sorceress." Cid pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to him. "She'll be at the train station in half an hour, you might want to leave now."

Angrily Squall tore the sheet from Cid's fingertips, making his way out of his office. Quistis gave him a quick kiss on the lips before following the others to the infirmary. Squall glanced at Cid once more. "Might I ask who the sorceress is or do I have a pretty fucking good idea?"

Cid loosened the collar around his neck, Squall's icy glare making it seem as if he were suffocating him. "It's R-R—"

"That's enough." Squall continued walking, leaving Cid to fumble in his stupor.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hey! And yes this WILL be a Squall/Rinoa, I wouldn't have it any other way : )

As Squall was entering the parking lot he paused, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his cigarettes. Normally he wasn't a huge smoker, but when things got stressful…he couldn't help himself. He jammed his keys into the ignition of his car, grumbling about how he had to pick up the sorceress who in turn happened to be the one and only bitch who left him.

He was so lost in his angered thoughts that he didn't realize Selphie at his door and snapped at her when she knocked on the window.

"Don't go ballistic on me," she said, scrunching her nose at him. "Just calm down. I just came to give you your gunblade." Rolling her eyes at him she handed over the leather case when he apologized and open the door.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Just…a lot on my mind." He mentally berated himself for forgetting his prized possession in the midst of his rushing out and had only one handgun strapped to his hip.

The sooner he got her the sooner he could leave her with Cid.

Selphie shrugged her shoulders. "I figured with all the cigarette smoke. Well…good luck then." She gave him a small smile and turned on her heels.

As soon as she had left Squall revved his engines and sped out the driveway, leaving twin rows of black on the concrete. Quickly he sucked at the nicotine on his way to the train station.

Selphie returned to the infirmary, placing a gentle hand on Irvine's shoulder as he leaned forward, head in his hands as he looked over the still breathing of Edea. "She'll be ok," she whispered. "Everything's going to turn out fine."

Quistis looked up from her corner and slowly gave a smile. "Yeah, Matron's too strong for this."

Selphie sighed and sat on the seat. "How do you think Squall's doing with the whole…thing?"

"That's really Squall's business then isn't it," Irvine replied quietly before Quistis could.

"When did you ever _not_ care about Squall's business?" Selphie retorted.

Irvine glanced at her through the corner of his eyes. "I'm just saying, this is a lot of shit that he hasn't dealt with in years. Maybe on this one we should actually back off on."

Quistis lowered her eyes and picked at her nails, fussing with her bangs to conceal the flush that rose to her cheeks. She for one was _very_ interested in barging into Squall's thoughts about the whole situation, and even against her better judgment she thought to leave it alone and focus on the lives at stake.

Everyone turned heads as Dr. Kadowaki came into the room, flipping through her sheets.

"How's it looking?" Zell asked, rising from his crouch beside Edea's bed.

Kadowaki swallowed and softly placed down the papers. "Only time will tell with her," she said softly. "But…I have heard from the other doctor's looking over the other sorceresses." Worry ignited in their chests like ice. "There has already been one casualty." She rounded the bed and checked the monitors hooked up to Edea. "A young girl. The evil power that's causing this was too much for her young soul and took her."

Zell closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. "Fuck," he muttered lowly.

"You said it," Selphie and Irvine whispered. Quistis sighed and bowed her head, rubbing her temples.

Squall parked his car and headed for the entrance of the train station, nodding to those who checked the tickets. "I'm here to pick up…" He trailed off and waved his fingers in dismissal.

"The sorceress?" the man finished for him. "Yes, Cid called and informed us of your arrival. The train will be here shortly if you'd like to wait over there." He pointed to a wooden bench and nodded.

"Thanks." Squall readjusted his blade and walked towards the area.

Twenty minutes later he was still waiting and he impatiently glanced over to the clock above him continuously, greedingly inhaling his cigarette. He thought he had heard a train approaching but it never came and must have instead made a turn. "The trains are late," he muttered unnecessarily. From around the corner he heard a loud noise and figured it was the train finally making its presence. "About fucking time."

But the noise was suddenly joined by screams of fear and violent shouting, and the loud sounds introduced themselves and weapons and bloodshed.

Instinctively Squall grabbed hold of his gunblade and sped towards the shouts. When he arrived he found several men in military-esque garb and masks bombarding the innocents of the station. As Squall got closer he realized that the men were not of any military function but had the knowledge of killers.

Squall raised his blade and collided with one of the men pinning a woman with a gun to her head. He knocked him to the ground and shoved the woman away, ordering her to run. Several others of the bastards rushed at Squall, whipping out their weapons as they screamed at him.

A few uniforms came to the scene, seeing Squall fight off them men and joining his side, trying to get the civilians away from danger. On the floor were already a handful of injured men and women, blood pooling from their wounds.

Squall groaned with teeth clenched as one of the men's knives grazed his arm, slicing through the leather and carving his flesh. He raised his foot, knocking him square in the jaw and sending him backward.

Thick arms wrapped around Squall's shoulders and twisted him, jerking and writhing to get him to let go of his gunblade. Through the fierce churning Squall eyed the train that never came, its doors broken open. He swore to himself and jerked his arm free, elbowing his attacker in the gut. As the masked man staggered Squall unleashed his gunblade on him, piercing through his chest. While the corpse slid from his blade another man jumped him, letting loose rounds of fists at Squall's face.

Squall blocked with the flat end of his blade, wincing as one of the man's hits caught him below the eye.

A uniform lunged and hooked an arm around the man's throat, hoisting him off of Squall and sending him to the ground. Squall took the opportunity and made way for the train, dodging bullets and shooting his own at his opponents.

He leapt into the metal compartment and crawled on his hands and knees over the glass and bodies. From the looks of the outfits the bodies in the train were wearing, they were sorceress guardians mixed in with civilians.

He pushed himself further, aiming his gun and unloading shells at the attackers behind him. He made it to the back cabin which he assumed to be the sorceress' room and tore it apart, trying to find her. When every place she could have hidden was overturned and no sign of her he broke his way through the wall. "Fuck!"

A barrel of a gun pressed against his temple harshly. "Drop your fucking weapon," came a booming voice. When Squall didn't move the man pressed harder, fingering the trigger. "I said drop it!"

Squall growled and tossed down the gunblade.

"The gun too."

Soon the gun joined the blade on the ground and the man shoved at Squall. "Hands on your head. Move it."

Before Squall could move a muscle blue light wrapped around the rifle like silk, distorting it and turning it to molten metal. "What the fuck?" The man dropped his gun and revealed his hands, covered in swollen blisters and blood. He shrieked at the pain and the blue light surrounded him, forcing him to his knees. He yelled and cried as his clothes and flesh started to slide off him in oozing puddles.

Squall backed against the train and covered his nose to smother the disgusting smell.

The light reeled back and the man was left on the ground, shivering and whimpering, his arms around him like a blanket.

Squall glanced up and his eyes widened in shock and anger at the woman before him.

She simply placed her hand upon her cocked him and raised a brow, a tiny grin curved in her lips. "I believe you were expecting my arrival Commander Leonhart?"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Hey thanks for the reviews:) This one's a bit longer hope you guys like it as well. I'm trying to make Rinoa more of a badass because as much as I love her, she was way too wimpy in the game. The whole 'damsel in distress' ordeal bugged me. And the duster, there's going to be a reason why she left it and all the other things but it'll all come clear soon.

Enjoy my dears!

There she stood, for the first time in five years. Her hair had grown longer, reaching the small of her back with blue streaks in her bangs rather than the orange. Strapped across her breasts was a short pale blue corset with lace cap sleeves, her midriff bare. And with the knee high black laceup Doc. Martins and black miniskirt, she hardly looked to be the Rinoa he knew then.

Squall growled, swiped up his weapons and brushed past Rinoa. He rounded the corner of the train cautiously and jerked in surprise to see the whole platform of the train station under control. More uniforms had arrived but there didn't seem to be any of the masked men in custody though there were few who were in body bags. Relieved, Squall sheathed his gunblade and resumed his gun to the holster at his hip. Immediately he turned furious eyes to Rinoa who, of course, looked as calm as ever.

She crouched by the still burned man and raised her head to the officer who came towards him. "He's still alive," she said, her voice sounding stronger than it had been five years ago. "Take him to the hospital." Rinoa stood to her feet and smiled at the uniform. "Well then," she said to Squall. "Shall we?"

Squall scoffed and cracked his neck. "Let's get this over with."

Rinoa laughed at his cold reply and crossed her arms over her breasts. "I see." She eyed his red and black leather jacket and smiled. "Still the hardass fucker." With an amused sigh she picked up her bag and followed him towards the parking lot.

"Nice car," she said, her eyes scanning over the sleek design of steel. "Can I drive?"

Squall stopped at his door and looked at her, bewildered. "You're fucking kidding me."

Rinoa cocked her head. "Nope. Can I drive?"

Squall's jaw dropped and Rinoa raised her fingers, his keys jumping from his pocket to her palm. He growled and made his way to the trunk. "You won't give up will you?" he snapped.

"Of course not. I won't crash it," she told him simply, popping the trunk and tossing her bag in. "I wouldn't defile such a beauty of a car."

"It's a stick."

Rinoa rolled her eyes and laughed again. "I believe I can handle it." She opened the door and gunned the engine, readjusting the seat to her stature. "You coming or aren't you?" she called when he was still standing by the trunk.

Swearing to himself, Squall slammed it shut and reluctantly got into the passenger seat. He had never sat in that seat in all the years of having the car and it was an odd view--one he would not like to be used to. "Just don't hurt my car," he snarled finally, keeping his eyes away from her.

Rinoa placed two fingers at her temple. "Yes sir!" She pulled from the parking lot and merged onto the street. With ease she shifted her way through the gears, the engine never stalling and she never forgot about the clutch.

Squall kept his eyes on the road before him, one arm bent against the door with his fingers at his temple. "What happened at the station?"

Rinoa quickly moved her hand to side and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Mind if I smoke?"

Squall looked at the pack instead of her face. "When did you start smoking?"

"When did you?" she shot back, a finger pointing to the crushed cigarettes in his cup holder. "So can I smoke or not?"

"Whatever." Squall pulled out his own and leaned back, rolling down the window.

Rinoa ashed out the side and took a breath. "While I was on the train nearing the station, we all of a sudden started to slow down. The conductor announced they were having technical difficulties and then finally we stopped. I have no idea why, but all of a sudden those men in masks invaded the train and started killing people."

"Were they after you?" Squall took another hit off his cigarette.

"I'm not sure to tell you the truth."

Squall nonchalantly nodded. To break the silence he leaned over and clicked on his MP3 player hooked to the stereo. Soon the car was filled with pounding drums and rhythms.

Finally, after what seemed to Squall as eternity, Rinoa pulled up to the Garden. She parked and exited, hooking her hair over her shoulder to cascade down her front. As Squall turned to grab the key from the ignition his eyes caught the brief glance of angel wings tattooed on Rinoa's back.

"Squall can you get the trunk please?"

Without saying a word or looking at her he opened it, walking towards the entrance while she lifted her bag from the car. He planned on giving her to Cid and rushing back to his apartment for a nice _long_ nap.

Rinoa didn't say anything else to him, and instead walked with a steady and calm gait towards the entrance.

When they got there the students of Balamb gawked at the sight of the sorceress. Some of the boys couldn't help but stare at her breasts, only to be smacked upside the head by Squall. "She's Cid's guest. Pay respect."

Rinoa rolled her eyes as Squall snapped at the boys. Then suddenly she heard her name from above and paused, mouth dropping at the sight of the brunette in yellow racing towards the elevator. "Selphie?"

"You're back!" Selphie was still screaming in excitement inside the elevator and didn't break a sweat as she dashed towards Rinoa. "I've missed you!" She practically leapt onto Rinoa, arms around her neck as she planted a friendly kiss on her cheek with tears in her eyes.

Rinoa smiled as she hugged the girl tighter. "I missed you too."

"Why'd you leave?" she asked, skipping right to the point.

Rinoa's face never faltered though Squall flashed his eyes in her direction, wondering himself though he'd be damned if he asked her first.

"We have more important shit to talk about," Rinoa simply replied, shrugging her small shoulders. "Where's Cid?"

Selphie gestured up the elevator. "In his office. Did you want to see Edea?"

Rinoa breathed deep and nodded.

Neither Squall nor Rinoa exchanged words or glances as they went their separate ways. Selphie looked back and forth between them, her hair bobbing from the movement. Squall all but had a storming cloud wrapped around him while Rinoa practically glided towards the infirmary. Immediately she yanked out her phone and texted Quistis of Squall's return.

Rinoa softly swept back the plastic curtain that surrounded Edea's bed, her heart clenching at the sight. "What are we to do?" she whispered, taking one of Edea's hands into her own. Slowly she sat in the chair and rested her head on the stiff mattress, minding the multitude of wires that enveloped the sleeping sorceress.

Squall furiously roared as he entered his apartment, throwing a fist into the wall. She made him confused and drove him mad. "Why couldn't she have just stayed wherever the fuck she was?" he shouted, lowering himself to the couch.

A tiny knock came from his front door and his thundering blue-gray eyes traveled to the noise. "What?" he barked.

"It's Quistis." Carefully she edged the door open and softly closed it behind her. "Are you alright?"

Squall sighed, exasperated, and leaned against the back of the couch. He knew he'd be hearing the same fucking question over and over again the whole time Rinoa would be in the vicinity. "Yeah I'm great." He pulled out a cigarette and stared at Quistis through the film of smoke that escaped through his lips.

Quistis scoffed and sat across from him. "Right. You look as if you got run over." She leaned in and gingerly wiped at the scrape beneath his eye with a moist towelette. "Did the train get you?"

He realized she was pretending to ask about his injuries rather than what was going on in his mind and he decided to play along to get her off the subject. "No. The station was attacked." As if on cue he removed his jacket, glaring at the gash that smiled up at him from his arm. "I don't know the whole story. I'll call the officials later tonight."

"Ah, I see." Quistis wadded up the towelette and fished for a new one, dabbing at the wound on his arm. "You should go see Edea when you're injuries are cleaned," she said, her eyes focusing on clearing away the dried blood from the gash.

"I will."

Quists' phone started ringing and she paused, motioning for Squall to clean up what he could as she answered. "Yes Cid?" She opened her mouth again as if she would say something in protest to whatever Cid answered but she quickly shut it. "Right…of course." She snapped her phone shut, slowly putting it back into her pocket. "We have to go back to Garden," she told him quietly and rose to her feet.

Squall followed suit a bit reluctantly.

Cid paced anxiously before Rinoa, Irvine, and Selphie while waiting for the others to arrive. Zell came in first, chewing on a hot dog. "Hey Rinoa!" he said, his words muffled.

She smiled sweetly at him from her seat by Cid's desk. "How's it going?" she asked while he bent down to hug her.

"I've been good. What about you where have you been?"

Rinoa just shook her head and waved her hand in dismissal. "We'll talk about it later ok?"

Quistis walked in and froze when she saw Rinoa. "H—Hey!" she cried, reaching out to hug her as she walked over. "I hardly recognized you," she told her, squeezing her tight. "How are you?"

Rinoa squeezed her back. "I'm great. You?" As she started to pull back a scent invaded her nose and her eyes shot open, glowing a dangerous red. It wasn't just any scent that was embroidered into Quistis'—it was Squall's.

Squall walked in and slowed his pace a fraction as he saw Rinoa's eyes burning red. Then as quickly as he had seen it, it was gone and she was smiling at Quistis. Squall rubbed his temple. _Did I just see…? I need more sleep._ He kept his distance from both women and stood facing Cid, waiting for whatever it was he needed to announce.

Cid cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "As you all know," he started, leaning back into his desk. "Rinoa is back to aid us in finding what is causing the sorceresses to become ill. Last I heard there has been one casualty already so we need to move quickly."

"What's the first move?" Selphie asked, twisting her back and legs to check the soles of her boots.

"We're going to disperse into teams," Cid answered, handing each of them a slip of paper. "You're all going to areas where the sorceresses are being investigated to see if any news has come across." He leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms. "Squall, you and Rinoa are going to Deling, Selphie and Irvine to Timber, and Zell and Quistis to Esthar."

Squall smothered a growl as he heard his teammate's name and folded the paper into his back pocket. The quieted growl still managed to catch Quistis' ears and she sneaked a peek to Rinoa who seemed completely indifferent, her eyes reading over the slip Cid gave her.

"There will be more areas where the sorceresses are being kept and I'll update you as soon as I get more information. That ends the meeting," Cid announced, hurrying them out of his office so he could see his wife.

"Deling huh?" Selphie asked Rinoa. "You going to see your dad while you're there?"

Rinoa scoffed and mockingly rolled her eyes. "That would be something alright." She lifted her bag over her shoulders and exited the room, Selphie chatting her ear off the whole way.

Quistis stood by Squall and gave him a supportive smile. "Take care ok?" With that she leaned in and kissed him. "Please be careful."

"Same to you," he told her, giving her a rough squeeze around the waist before making his way to the parking garage.

When he was out of earshot he muttered to himself, "This fucking blows."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Thanks again for the reviews people! Makes me feels all warm and fuzzy : ) If at any time you feel confused from grammar or word order let me know. I write when I get home from work (Almost 4 am) so my brain's kind of mushed. Don't worry, Rinoa's soft and vulnerable side will be seen shortly, still trying to work it all together. As for Quistis…haven't figured that out yet.

This one's going to be pretty short but the next one's going to be super long, promise.

Read/rock on!

"I'm driving," Squall said as they neared the car. Rinoa shrugged and placed her bag into the trunk. He gunned the engine as she strapped herself in and peeled from the lot.

Rinoa leaned over and fiddled with his MP3 player. "What songs do you have on here?" she asked, pressing her buttons to search through the library. Her eyes lit up as she saw a band she liked and chose the whole playlist, sitting back and enjoying the sounds. When a certain song came on she bit back a smile and looked out the window, lighting up a cigarette as the words flowed around them.

Squall recognized the song instantly from the first guitar strum and drum crash. He quickly glanced over to Rinoa and saw only the back of her black and blue head.

_To my ray of sunshine,  
you're the only thing that gets me by,  
and when I think of you,  
I know in my heart that I never tried from the start _

These feelings I have for you,  
will never fade away  
I just can't be without you  
So this is the day, you'll hear me say

I was wrong, all along.  
Now I'm tryin' to change  
and I'm finally starting to see  
It's my fault  
That you're gone  
and this is my apology. 

Squall gripped the steering wheel tighter, feeling his leather gloves crinkle from the constriction. Was she playing with him? He wasn't so sure anymore. Here she is after five years and acted as if nothing had even happened. She was walking around completely indifferent and unaware of the pain she had caused and now a song titled dutifully "Apology" was on.

I remember the first time,  
that I looked into your eyes  
I couldn't believe you were mine  
now I'm empty inside,  
how could I leave you behind?

These feelings I have for you,  
will never fade away  
I just can't be without you  
Now I realize that I wasn't right

Rinoa cracked her neck and looked before her at the open road with a few minor vehicles along it. She could feel Squall's emotions around her like wet velvet. She knew he wanted nothing more than to throttle her and go back to his darling Quistis. Sighing, she twirled a lock of hair around her finger and sang along inside her head. 

_Now I know, how things should be  
I'll do anything,  
you mean everything to me.  
Please give me one more chance  
to be with you again _

I was wrong.  
Now I'm tryin' to say  
That I'm sorry,  
can you forgive me?  
It's my fault  
That you're gone  
and this is my apology. 

Instantly Squall picked up the MP3 player, his eyes flickering a few times to the screen as he maintained a gaze at the road. He selected a song and placed the contraption down. If she indeed was playing games, then here was his reply.

_Everything I need is not really what I want.  
I really really wanna see you die._

True, he didn't want to see her die, but it was an angry song and it soothed him.

_  
Everything I want I can't have if left up to me  
Un-af-fec-ted  
By all the bullshit that you cause  
Un-pro-tec-ted  
Naked so we see your flaws  
Vi-o-lat-ed  
You must think that we don't see this  
Dis-re-spec-ted  
Just remember it's our ass you kiss  
Rot._

Rinoa smiled at the song and looked into her lap, lightly laughing as she could feel Squall's tension loosen from the poor steering wheel. At least he was feeling a bit better.

_  
You don't like me; I hope you  
Rot.  
Un-jus-ti-fied  
You keep fucking with us; we are  
Hos-tile-in-side  
We consider you a joke it's  
Hate-mag-nif-ied  
Soon you'll think that we don't see this  
Strip-down-your-pride  
Soon you'll feel the force of all of us  
Rot.  
You don't like me; I hope you  
Rot.  
I don't like you  
Can't you see this?  
Why won't you  
Leave me alone?_

Rinoa looked at him and laughed. "Can I choose another?"

And so it continued the whole drive to Deling, each one choosing a song—whether it was an angry, sad, or happy—switching back and forth.

When they arrived at the Deling Hotel the cashier smiled at the approaching two. "Welcome to the Deling Hotel guys, what can I get for you today?"

Squall gave a small nod and handed her the paper. "Cid should have called earlier."

The cashier nodded and took it from him. "Right, the SeeD commander and the sorceress. Cid explained everything to my manager. Now let's see here…" She typed at her computer as she searched through the files. "Did you want one or two beds?"

"Two," Rinoa and Squall replied at the same time.

The cashier nodded again as she input the information. "Smoking or non smoking?"

"Smoking," they replied again in unison.

"Ok…alright it's all set." She handed Squall a form to fill out and gave Rinoa the keys. "You guys are on the fourth floor room 416. The café is open until eleven, the bar is open until two am, and breakfast will be available in the café at six am." She smiled again as Squall gave her back the papers. "Thank you, and enjoy your stay."

**A/N: **First songMakeshift Romeo's "Apology"  
Second songDry Kill Logic's "Rot"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been sick and still getting over it but now I finally have the energy to get out of be and actually do something I enjoy.

They entered their room and Rinoa tossed her bag onto one of the beds. She raised her arms up high and relished the sound of her bones popping from being confined in the car for so many hours. From inside her bag she heard her phone ringing and smiled as she saw SELPHIE flash across the screen.

"Hello darling," she purred jokingly.

"Hey lover did you get to Deling already?" Selphie asked.

"We just got in. What's up? Have you heard anything yet?"

"No not yet, we won't be able to see them until tomorrow morning…but I kinda wanted to talk to you about something." Selphie glanced over her shoulder and exited the hotel room while Irvine lay sleeping, with only the one sheet to cover him. "Is Squall by you?"

Rinoa scooped up her cigarettes and sat on the balcony, pushing the door closed. "What is it?" she asked, her voice muffled as the cigarette was nestled between her lips. Flame kissed the tip and she was inhaling the lovely and addicting soothe of nicotine. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah…I was just wondering how you and Squall were doing. If you guys were fighting with everything that's happened lately."

"No we haven't been talking much. Why are you whispering?" Rinoa asked, leaning back against the patio chair.

Selphie glanced back towards the hotel room to make sure the door was still closed. "Irvine's sleeping and I don't want to wake him up. He…kinda doesn't want me talking to you."

"Really?"

"Yeah cause like, Squall's his friend and so you're the bitch who left and so he doesn't want me talking to you. As if I really wouldn't, you were my best friend before you left."

Rinoa lowered her eyes and bit her lip. "I know…I am really sorry about it all. But I can't tell you guys everything just yet."

"I understand. So please understand that whenever you're ready to talk you _can_ come to me still you know. We may not have spoken for five years but you're still my friend. And I know that you have a completely legitimate reason for leaving the way you did." Selphie pressed the elevator button and leaned her arm against the mirrored wall as she waited. "So how's Squall doing?"

Rinoa looked through the glass door and saw him unpacking his things. "As well as can be expected I guess. How…How was he while I was gone?"

Selphie entered the elevator. "He went on a rampage trying to find you. He went to Deling, Esthar, Timber…all of them, trying to find you. After maybe three years of sending out fleets in search of you he reluctantly gave up and focused everything he had into his work." Selphie sighed as she remembered. "Then he started drinking…a lot."

Rinoa smashed the cigarette into the astray. "Fuck," she whispered, lighting another one. "I…I didn't realize my leaving would fuck him up that much."

"You didn't realize how much you meant to him? Rinoa, come on! That has to be the _dumbest_ thing I've heard. He adored you!" The elevator opened its doors and Selphie made her way to the cafeteria. "He worshipped the ground you walked on!"

Rinoa chewed her lip. She was kind of hoping Squall would move on quickly, as in the next day. She was hoping he would forget all about her almost instantly and move to a life better suiting than one with a dangerous sorceress. "Selphie trust me, it was better for him that I had left instead of stayed. And I promise I'll tell you about it but I just can't right now."

Selphie nodded and then paused as she heard Rinoa's breath blow across the speaker. "Are you—Are you _smoking_? Oh dammit not you too!" She huffed when she heard Rinoa laugh. "When did you start smoking?"

"About two years ago," Rinoa answered, trying not to laugh too loudly. "And anyways, it seems to me that Squall's doing just fine without me. Cid has told me he's been promoted several times, is the highest ranking SeeD, is up for inheriting the Garden from Cid, and seems to have a great relationship with Quistis."

Selphie rolled her eyes. "All that has only been happening in the last few years. And the only reason he pushed himself that hard was so he wouldn't think of _you._ And Quistis helped him through AA. She was running the meetings. They've only been dating technically for about eight months."

"Yes but he's happy with her," Rinoa said, taking a hit off her cigarette.

"Well yeah…but—"

Rinoa stood to her feet. "Selphie, a relationship with me would have caused Squall nothing but anguish. Even if I had stayed, he would have been hurt by me. I don't deserve him Selphie," she said, taking one last drag off her cigarette before tossing it over the railing. "I never did." Before she opened the door she said: "I have to go, I'll talk to you tomorrow ok."

"Ok, bye." Selphie hung up and went to stand in line for the cash register.

Rinoa set her phone on the bedside table and sat down, sighing as the bed sank beneath her. "So where to?"

Squall finished throwing his shirts into the drawer. "The hospital's down the street. They've emptied a whole floor for scientists to run tests on the sorceresses." He quickly glanced at his watch. "We need to be there in half an hour."

Rinoa moved her neck in an arc, loosening up her muscles. "Alright then."

Quistis sat down before the lead scientist, listening carefully and taking notes while he spoke. She glanced over to her cohort and saw he was talking with one of the sorceress children that lay on the bed.

"At first nothing seemed to wrong with the sorceresses at all," the scientist said. "They were complaining about fatigue to their loved ones but nothing seemed to be too out of the ordinary. But when it was learned that nearly _all_ the sorceresses were becoming ill, we sent out an immediate release to contain them." He turned back to a few of his notes and continued. "It doesn't seem to be contagious from one sorceress to another, it appears to be hitting them at random. But…" He ushered Quistis to one of the older sorceresses. "She has only been ill for about forty hours, and her veins beneath her skin have become black."

Quistis gently took the elder sorceresses' hand into her own and studied her arm. "Does it hurt you?"

The sorceress shook her head. "No, I don't' feel any different. Except that I am a bit more tired than usual. But I have grown old, at first I thought it was because of old age and not something more evil."

Quistis nodded and set her hand back down, giving her a reassuring smile. "We're going to help you."

"But then over here…" The scientist brought Quistis to another bed, one that held a young woman in her mid twenties. She lay gasping for breath, an oxygen mask strapped to her face. "She has been ill for maybe seven hours. Her appearance is the same with the black veins but her condition is much more severe." He sighed and rubbed his temple. "This power that is draining them is extraordinary; I wish we could tell you more but…"

Quistis placed her hand on his shoulder. "I understand. You and your team are doing the best you can. Zell and I have four other teammates who are at the other vicinities. We'll find a way through this. Please keep us updated with anything you know, even if you think it trivial."

"Of course. Thank you so much."

Zell laughed as the young child playfully punched him. "Come on, I know you're stronger than that!" he said, showing her another round of punches he'd known since he was younger than she. The girl giggled and mimicked his movements, laughing in hysterics when he fell to the ground, howling about how she broke his leg. "I'll be in the hospital with you for sure!"

Quistis smiled when she saw him on the ground, his body in a tangle while the girl playfully nudged him with her foot. "I'm so sorry children, but playtime is over." The girl pouted and Zell stuck his tongue out at Quistis. "Aww…don't worry. We'll be very close by."

"Alright," Zell grumbled and gave the girl a high five. "We'll be back kiddo, I promise." The girl waved at him and squeezed her pillow as they left.

"Find out anything?" Zell asked Quistis as they entered their car.

"The disease is moving randomly. It's not choosing any age in particular. So far no other girls have passed so that's a good thing. Did you find out anything from the girl other than that she could kick your ass?" Quistis grinned, jabbing him in the shoulder.

"Oh hardy har har. No, she herself hasn't felt any pain. But she was telling me about a dream she had about how sorceresses were marked and that's how Hyne's blood comes through."

"What do you mean?"

Zell scratched the back of his head. "It was kind of hard to understand her because it was a dream but…she was saying that in her dream every sorceress has a mark, and that mark is of Hyne's blood, and that's how they are known to be sorceresses before they receive any powers. But I don't know what the mark could be. Could be a birthmark or a scar...I have no idea. She didn't see it in her dream."

"Interesting. I wonder if any of the others have found anything new. Even though as SeeD's, we still don't know the true history of the sorceresses. I wonder if Edea even knows." Quistis carefully weaved their way through traffic, hurrying to the hotel room to contact Cid.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **I kinda changed the whole history behind the sorceresses…if you've noticed. And I haven't played the game in years so I can't remember if Hyne was a guy or a girl but in this story she's a she. And my stepmother is a Wiccan so I'm throwing in ancient Pagan/Celtic/anything else into the mix as well. Anyways…read on loves.

Selphie arrived back to the hotel room and was greeted by Irvine standing nude before the television, flicking his way through the channels. She stifled a laughed and shut the door behind her. "Did you just wake up or were you just too lazy to change?"

Irvine glanced her way and scoffed. "You've known me _how _long? And you still think I'd get dressed when there's no reason to? My love you make me blush with how highly you think of me." He immediately pounced on her taking her giggling self to the bed and burying his lips into her hair. "Let's make love."

Selphie squealed and shoved him off with the heels of her boots. "You've known me _how_ long?" she shot back, gasping for breath between her laughter. "And you still think I'd have sex with you? I told you Irvine—Not until I'm married."

"It's been five years Selphie," Irvine groaned. "And I _still_ can't give you the experience of ultimate pleasure? I can't make love to the woman I love most?" He sighed and collapsed on the bed, his arm thrown over her stomach.

Selphie rolled her eyes. "You'd think after five years you'd have learned already." She poked him in the side with her heel. "Don't give me the pouty face; you know it won't change a thing." When he didn't move and instead whimpered into his pillow she giggled, moving onto all fours as she nudged him. "Oh come on…you know I'll do other things with you but I won't have sex."

Irvine lifted his head slightly and grinned. "Oh…I _know._" He moved onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "What time do we need to be there tomorrow morning?"

"Eight am _sharp_."

"Great…I'm so excited for it. I'm not going to get enough sleep…"

Selphie jerked her head in shock. "It's barely even ten thirty!"

Rinoa held the elevator door open for Squall as they made their way into the hospital. She wrapped her hands around arms as she waited for them to arrive at their floor.

Squall's phone rang and he held it to his ear. "Yeah?" He paused for a second with his brows furrowed. "Well what does the fuck does that mean? Have you talked to Cid yet? …Call him and then call me back." Squall snapped the phone shut and glanced at Rinoa. "There's a girl in Esthar who dreamed about the sorceresses." He waited for her to turn to him before continuing. "She was saying something about a mark on every sorceress and that's how Hyne's blood comes to them. Know anything about that?"

"A mark?" Rinoa thought for a moment before shrugging. "I'm not sure I've heard of that…but the history of sorceresses is never clear. For since the dawn of human life there have been sorceresses and there have been many different versions of their lineage."

The doors opened and Rinoa paused at the sight of test tubes and needles and wires sticking out of the sorceresses. She took a deep breath and moved forward.

A few scientists lifted their heads and gasped as she came through the double glass doors. "It's the Sorceress Rinoa!" they whispered at each other. "She's really here."

Squall nodded his head at the lead scientist. "What news have you got?"

"My dear Rinoa!"

Squall turned at the sound and grimaced when he saw Dr. Odine waddle his way over. "Doctor," she said calmly and gave him a small smile. "What are you doing here and not in Esthar?"

Odine took her hand and patted it gently. "My dear we need to talk." He turned to Squall and motioned for him. "You come too!" He brought them both outside to the balcony and sat them down. "A bit of history of the sorceresses has come clear to me," he said. "We doctors of each station have kept communications and we have discovered that the children sorceresses are seeing into the past, seeing Hyne's blood. It is as if Hyne herself is coming back from the grave to help her children!"

Squall leaned back and lit a cigarette, noticing how calm and collected Rinoa and Odine were together. The last time—that he knew of—Rinoa and Odine weren't the best of friends since he'd tried to keep her powers sealed.

"What is this mark?" Rinoa asked. "We've heard that a child dreamt of a mark on each sorceress and that is how Hyne's line is carried out. How have you known who is a sorceress? Some children and women have yet to receive their full powers."

Odine clasped his hands before his lips. During the awful reign of Adel, we feared that there would be more evil sorceresses and we conjured a plan in hopes to advert it. While tending to every whim of Sorceress Adel we discovered she'd had a strange marking behind her right ear. It was the symbol of the triple lunar—two crescent moons facing opposite directions while surrounding a full moon. It was small, maybe about two centimeters at most, but it was there. It was the ultimate symbol for womankind—the symbol of the Goddess. A symbol perfectly befitting Hyne herself! We thought maybe it was the mark of a sorceress and requested that when every baby girl was born, they were to be inspected for this mark. And sure enough, a whole multitude of baby girls had it! It was extraordinary! Some were in the form of birthmarks, others like freckles and moles! Some large and some tiny—"

Squall rose a brow and Rinoa interjected. "Doctor I've never seen any mark like that anywhere on my body. And after twenty-two years I'd think I'd have seen it already."

Odine smiled and shook his head. "My dear, yours is a small one, but it is indeed there." He excused himself for a moment and rushed to his office, reaching into a file cabinet and searched for a folder. After a few more moments of searching, he victoriously pulled out a manila folder with Rinoa's name branded across the tab. "Your mother was the first to see it," he proclaimed as he returned to the balcony, flipping through the pages. "Let's see here…Ah! It is above the base of your hair line in the center of your neck. When you were born you didn't have nearly as much hair as you do now, so it was certainly easy to find it." He rose from his seat and rounded behind her, swiftly scooping up her hair and peeling back a few strands. "And there it is, in plain view."

Squall leaned over and frowned when he saw Odine was correct, the dark brown birthmark stared up at him between the mass of black hair, hardly above a centimeter in width. "Holy shit it is there," he breathed.

Rinoa fumbled for a mirror and held it behind her while Odine ordered Squall to fetch another. Her eyebrows lifted a bit as she looked into the mark she'd had her whole life and had just learned about it. "I learn something new about myself every fucking day," she whispered.

While Odine released her locks and let it fall back around her shoulders, Squall cleared his throat. "Zell has also told me that some sorceresses' veins have turned black, showing through their skin."

Rinoa glanced at him and then to the doctor, her eyes wide in interest.

"Well," Odine started. "We haven't come across many with that condition here yet, but we are still doing studies to figure out what that is exactly. I have been told that sorceresses are being hit at random. If you ask me I think someone who has the power is poisoning the sorceresses. Maybe someone who still believes that they are evil…or maybe with a personal grudge? But I am still not aware on how someone could have possessed the power to vessel so much hate."

"There are still some factions who have it out for sorceresses," Squall said. "I'll call the headmaster and see if I'm able to have a meeting with them."

Odine nodded. "Yes, maybe…but there has been no turmoil from any sorceresses in five years. It hardly seems reasonable that they would go through so much trouble when there has been no harm caused."

"Doesn't mean they won't do it," Rinoa said, rubbing her temples.

"We'll check it out." Squall cracked his neck and stretched his arms. "Anything else that was discovered?"

Odine shook his head and opened the door for them. "Nothing new yet, but I will inform you the moment I find out something." Squall shook his hand and headed towards the elevator. Rinoa lingered a bit and Odine took her hand in his and grasped it gently. "How have you been lately?" he whispered.

"Things are in working order," she murmured back. From the corner of her eye she saw Squall staring at her oddly. Rinoa smiled and bowed her head at Odine. "Thank you so much doctor." She released her hand from his and smiled innocently as Squall as they stepped into the elevator.

"What was that all about?"

"What do you mean?" Rinoa brushed her hair from her face and hooked it over her shoulder.

Squall sighed and cracked his knuckles. "With Odine," he said shortly. "When did you two become all friendly?"

Rinoa shrugged. "Over the years I came to him and he helped me control my powers, that's all."

"Is that why you left? To become more powerful?" he grumbled.

She looked at him carefully. "No," she answered slowly. "My reason was much more important than that. But—"

"Yeah yeah, I've heard it before. You 'can't tell me just yet' or some bullshit right?" he snapped, silently thanking the elevator as it opened its doors to release him from being confined in a small space with her. But then he scowled when he realized he was going to be in the car with her, and _then_ in the hotel room. _Fucking shit,_ he swore to himself.

"What does it matter?" Rinoa barked. "It doesn't matter what I tell you, you're not going to like the answer. I could tell you I was possessed or kidnapped or whatever and it still wouldn't be what you want to fucking hear now would it?" She tapped her foot impatiently as he took his sweet time in unlocking the car door for her.

When she closed the door harshly he glared at her. "At least then I'd have a fucking answer from you rather than not knowing where the fuck you've been for the last five years." He stabbed his keys into the ignition and sped out of the hospital driveway, turning the volume up on his stereo to the point where his windows rattled carelessly.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey I know you guys hate these things—I know they can be a pain—but they're necessary. Just wanted to say that I won't be updating for a while (a week at most I think) there's way too much drama going on in my home including such things as my brother's friend got kicked out and is now camping in my house, my aunt from New York is coming back in town to visit mother, and my store might be getting turned into a reality tv show…oh how the joy flows through my veins about the last one…

Anyways, I'll answer your guys' questions for now.

1)Not all the sorceresses are infected, a few chapters back it was mentioned by I think Cid, so Rinoa might not be infected just yet.

2)I have figured out who the villain(s) will be! Yay me! I've been juggling back and forth through some back stories and I selected one that—I hope—fits the best.

3)The whole spacing between sequences I know…it's confusing. I've tried to put several spaces in between but for some reason it doesn't do it and makes it all smooshed together. So if any of you know how to fix that let me know.

4)Yeah…poor Irvine.

Thanks for reading so far and I'll update as soon as I can. I promise, there will be plenty of drama, fights, sex, and a heavily shitfaced Squall and Rinoa later on.

Later guys!

XOXO


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Yay an update! It's super long...enjoy

Rinoa stretched her legs onto the desk and leaned back in her seat. Her eyes scanned across the screen of the laptop yet found nothing they hadn't discovered already. Sighing, she eyed the numbers at the bottom of the screen. It was just barely midnight, they had returned to the hotel half an hour ago, yet with the heavy silence it felt much longer.

Squall was on the phone with Quistis, taking notes on everything she had taken from the scientists prior. He was just closing up his notebook when Quistis couldn't hold her curiosity back any longer.

"So how's it going over there?" she asked timidly.

"How do you think?" Squall mumbled. "She's infuriating."

Rinoa heard his comment and made her way to the bathroom. "Shower," she muttered to him, not bothering to check if he'd even heard her.

Squall turned his back and grabbed his cigarettes. Even though he'd ordered a room where smoking was permitted, he still liked fresh air while inhaling toxic.

Quistis sighed on the other line. "I miss you."

_It's only been a few hours_, Squall thought to himself. He had left Balamb Garden at around noon the latest earlier that day. At the thought he rubbed his temple with his thumb. "Yeah…I miss you too. Have you heard anything new from Cid?"

"No," she replied, miffed that he'd rather talk about the mission. "Haven't received anything, not even on Edea's health. He might just want to spend his time with his wife than be on the phone."

Rinoa sighed as the cool water gently thrummed atop her head. As she was engulfed in steam and water she slid her hands around the back of the neck, the pads of her fingertips pressing against flesh, soothing the muscles beneath.

It was an odd sensation, finding something on her body that has been there since she was born. And she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or angered that her parents had known she was destined to be a sorceress every since she came into the world. Then she wondered, what would they—or she for that matter—have done if she was told about it? Would she have grown up differently? Would she have been locked away? Studied upon?

Rinoa shook her head and paid focus to washing her hair. _There's no need for stupid questions you'll never know the answer to_,she thought as she coiled silver bubbles into her black locks.

Squall put out his cigarette as Quistis continued talking. "Do you know if Rinoa's infected?" she asked.

"Beats me. Cid didn't say anything about it," he answered, making his way back into the hotel room.

"You're really not all that happy with her being back are you," Quistis stated.

Squall scoffed and slid the glass door shut. "Should I be dancing around in joy and shitting rainbows?"

Quistis curved her lips into a small giggle at the thought. "She hasn't told you anything yet I see."

Rinoa turned the faucet knobs off and leaned her forehead against the porcelain wall of the shower, beads of water running down the length of her skin. "I need a drink," she whispered.

"So how are you spending the rest of your night?" Quistis asked.

Squall bit his tongue to keep back a sharp remark about her asking so many damn questions. Instead he swallowed any comment and simply stated, "Thinking of going to the bar downstairs." He glanced around and noticed Rinoa was no longer in the room. Not hearing anything other than his own breathing, he figured she'd left while he was outside.

"Fun..." Quistis shifted in her seat and crossed her legs. "Don't get too drunk, I don't want to see your ass in AA again."

"I won't. But I gotta piss, I'll call you later." After Quistis responded her own farewell he snapped the phone shut and set it on the table.

Squall opened the bathroom door and was greeted with the view of Rinoa's bare back. Her towel was loosely draped around her hips, dipped low to reveal the naked curve of her ass.

Rinoa gasped, yanking the towel up to cover herself. "Don't you know how to fucking knock?!" she screamed, her face red in a fit of embarrassment and rage. With one hand clutching the sheath of cotton over her breasts she shoved the frozen Squall from the threshold.

"Sorry—Sorry!" Squall briskly turned away, hardly wincing as the door slammed behind him. He swallowed down the lump that had formed in his throat as a direct result to seeing Rinoa's naked backside for the first time in five years. He heard her grumble behind the shut door and he swore, lighting a cigarette. "Fuck," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair. "Fuck."

Rinoa double checked the lock to make sure it was locked before removing the towel. She dried herself as quick as she could and pulled on a pair of lace panties. She continued muttering to herself as she dressed, tossing the towel over the shower railing to dry. Taking a small breath, she opened the door and found Squall sitting on the edge of his bed with a cigarette between his lips. "I'm dressed now," she said bitterly. "You can use the bathroom."

Squall didn't glance at her but briefly nodded. "Sorry," he snapped. "I didn't know you were in there." He quickly entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him, cigarette still in his lips.

When he returned he saw Rinoa drying her hair and swiping the hairs from her face. She finished and set the hair dryer aside.

"So I heard with your sorceress powers you could manipulate someone's mind," Squall asked, more statement than question.

Rinoa pulled on her boots as she slowly nodded; curiosity abundant at the sudden conversation starter. At least it wasn't about finding her naked when she got out of the shower and his intrusion. "Yeah…why?"

Squall shrugged and crushed his cigarette into the ashtray. "Quistis is worried you'll make me love you again."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Oh does she?" In a quick movement Rinoa turned and leaned in close to Squall, their noses barely a breath apart. "Darlin if I wanted you to love me again, you wouldn't be bleeding blood—You'd be bleeding _me._"

Squall growled, the urge to shove her off surging through his mind.

"Let's go to the bar downstairs," Rinoa said, standing to her feet and heading towards the door. "I could use a drink and it looks like you could too."

"Hello," said the bartender to them as she leaned against the counter to hear them over the speakers above them that blasted classic rock. "What can I get you guys tonight?"

"Everclear," Squall said.

Rinoa glanced over the rows of bottles. "Adios Mother Fucker."

The bartender nodded and pulled a bottle of Everclear from the shelf, smiling and then turning to make Rinoa's drink.

"So you were in AA and now you're drinking?" Rinoa asked.

Squall glared at her from the corner of his eye as he took several gulps from his bottle. "Who told you I was in AA?"

"Selphie."

"Ah." Squall set down the bottle and his brows lifted when Rinoa's drink came around the corner.

"Adios," the bartender said, dropping a slice of lemon into the drink.

Rinoa thanked her and took a sip. "Love it."

"Aw and it's blue," Squall mocked. "How adorable."

Rinoa stuck her tongue out at him and continued to drink her bright blue concoction. "Oh please, you're just jealous you don't have a fucking amazing ass drink and instead have an ugly bottle with a piece of corn on it."

"Whatever." Squall turned back to his bottle and took a long swig.

Rinoa set down her empty glass and ordered another. As she waited she glanced around the bar and nearly scoffed. "This place has been exactly the same for how many years? They need to do something new."

Squall looked out the corner of his eye to the grand piano on stage. It was pushed off to the side, barricaded by red velvet ropes, proclaiming respect for the late Julia Heartilly. Everything was the exact same way it had been since he'd seen the past of Laguna making a fool of himself in that very bar. The only thing that was different was that some of the upholstery was new, most likely due to one too many drunks not able to hold their liquor, but was still the same pattern.

She had briefly looked at the piano and her anticipation for her drink rose to new heights. She never did like coming to the Deling Hotel for this particular reason—seeing her mother's once prized possession displayed like a priceless artifact as a result of her untimely death.

Rinoa's second drink was served and she greedily started to swallow it down. The alcohol slid down her throat in cold waves that sent warm shocks through her veins and she smiled. She turned to Squall and poked him in the ribs. "You should get another drink."

"I'm almost done with this," Squall said, holding up his bottle to her nose. "Maybe three or so more swigs."

Rinoa grasped the bottle around the neck and brought it to her lips, forcing the alcohol down. She set the bottle on the counter and curled out her tongue in revulsion, smacking her lips. "How can you drink that?" she gasped. "It's like rubbing alcohol!"

"Fine, then _you_ order my next drink," he scowled.

Rinoa straightened her spine and huffed. "Well then alright Mr. Pissy, I shall. Excuse me?" She waited until the bartender came back to her and smiled. "Hi, can we also get him an Ice Bomb and me a Lion Tamer? Thanks." She sat back and looked innocent when Squall stared at her suspiciously. "What?"

"What am I about to drink?"

She simply gave him a smile and finished her second AMF. "You still like vodka right?"

Over an hour later it was nearing Last Call and the two ordered their final drinks of the night. Rinoa was doubling over laughing hysterically at something they couldn't remember what. Some of the bartenders had rounded by them, enjoying the entertaining view they were receiving of the two drunks.

"So I was in AA for drinkin' 'cause you weren't here…and _now_ I'm drinkin' because you _are _here—here! Right fuckin' next to me!" Squall shouted, shaking his head and laughing. "The fuck is with the world now?"

Rinoa giggled as she tried so desperately not to spill her drink. It failed, and her hand was soon streaming in pink and white lines from her drink. "Fuck!" She set her drink down and licked her hand, trying her best to clean it up. "I haven' been this drunk in like…forever? I don't even know…"

A song came on the radio and immediately the two shot up their heads. "I love this song!!" they cried at the same time, laughing when they heard themselves.

The slow and classic sounds of The Who's 'Behind Blue Eyes' filled the room and all in it couldn't help but grin at recognition of it. No one could stop themselves from singing along.

"No one knows what it's like…to be the bad man," Rinoa started, drunkenly swaying back and forth on her stool.

"To be the sad man…behind blue eyes!" Squall and the others in the bar chimed in. "No one knows what it's like…to be hated…to be fated…"

"To telling only lies!" Rinoa and their bartender shouted, holding theirs fists in the air in the shape of horns.

Then, completely off key, everyone screamed, "But my dreeeeeeams they aren't as empty…as my conscious seems to be!" Rinoa shrieked in laughter and finished her drink as the others continued in song. "I have hoooooooours…only lonely. My looove is vengeance, that's never freeeeee…"

"No one knows what it's like to feel these feelings," Squall shouted. "Like I do…" He and Rinoa pointed fingers at each other and mock glared. "And I blame YOU!!"

Rinoa threw back her head and gave a howl, raising her arms into the air. "No one bites back as hard on their anger…None of my pain and woe…can show through!!" She brought back down her face and grinned, her eyes slanting closed as the alcohol started to shield her vision—her inhibition already long since gone.

"But my dreeeeeeeeams they aren't as empty…as my conscious seems to be…" Squall laughed, one of the other bar customers leaning a hand on his shoulder as he held his drink triumphantly in the air. "I have hooooours only lonely. My love is vengeance, that's never freeeeeeee," the man sang, keeping a growling high note perfectly despite the amount he had drunk.

The music came faster, the drums and guitars crashing wildly and everyone moved their head to the beat, Rinoa's hair arcing back and forth as she headbanged. "I love this part!!" she screamed, hopping off the barstool and waving her arms. Squall laughed and tossed his glass into the sink. "When my fist clenches crack it open," Rinoa sang. "Before I use it and lose my cool."

"When I smile tell me some bad news," Squall added, pounding the countertop to the beat. "Before I laugh and act like a fool."

Rinoa sloppily slapped her hands onto his chest to gain balance from her dizzying dance. "And if I swallow anything evil put your finger down my throat. And if I shiver please gimmie a blanket keep me warm lemme wear your coat!"

The end of the song started to approach and Squall gripped Rinoa's arm to lead her out. "Bye guys!" Rinoa shouted to the others in the bar. "See you next time!"

The other customers screamed in excitement and the bartender shook her cleaning rag in the air.

Squall nodded at them and swore when he almost ran Rinoa and himself into the banister. "Ok…going _up_ the stairs now," he said.

They exited the hotel and Rinoa detached from him to lean on the lamp post. "Where'd we park? You remember?" she asked, slumping her way around the pole. "You're drunk…gimmie your keys."

Squall recoiled back and protectively clutched his car keys. "Fuck no! _You're_ drunk! You don't even remember where we fuckin' parked!"

Rinoa stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine fine, whatever bitch. I don' wanna drive your car anyways!" She sighed and looked around the empty black streets barely lit by lamps. "Where'd all the cars go?"

"They got scared by your singing," Squall said, shielding himself from Rinoa's hand that raised to slap him.

"Fuck you!" she slurred. "_My _singing was bad? Didja even lissen to yours? It was unbearable!! I'm the sorceress," she announced, having trouble pronouncing her S's. "You've gotta be nice to me—I'm s'posed to help you!" Rinoa stepped on the edge of his shoes with her boot.

Squall laughed and kept her away at arms length. "You're the powerful sorceress here to guide us through this hard time—And you're drunk!"

"Oh look who's talkin!"

Squall grinned. "You Rinoa…" he started and laughed before he could finish his sentence. He bent down and placed his hands on his thighs. "You're a bad sorceress!"

Rinoa let the drunken words sink in and she giggled. "Oh fuck! I'mma naughty sorceress!!"

"Fuck yeah you are!"

Rinoa jumped up and down on one foot and twirled around. "I'mma naughty sorceress! I'm _supposed _to save lives but instead I get _shitfaced!_" She shrieked in gales of laughter and grabbed Squall's biceps. "I'm _sooo_ naughty!"

Squall straightened his spine and chuckled when Rinoa collapsed against his chest. "You deserve a spanking!" he shouted. "A big fuckin one where you can't sit for weeks 'cause your ass hurts like fuckin hell!"

Rinoa gasped and squealed. "I do!! I really do! But—" She glanced around again to the empty street. "Where'd we fuckin park??" She turned her whole body and her legs got twisted in the action. She would have fallen flat on her face is Squall hadn't caught her—more like got tangled with her and so prevented her fall. His cheek was pressed against hers, her back pushed into his chest as his arms were around her. She could feel his warm breath curling across her flesh and she turned only fracture of an inch before Squall's lips came down upon hers.

And before either knew it, she was responding to it, managing to straighten herself out and turned around in his arms, her hands clenching into his shirt. The tip of his tongue slid along her bottom lip, soon greeted with her own tongue gliding over his. Her teeth gently nipped at his lips and it was then that he noticed that they had grown slightly sharper.

Then it was if a light had gone off and they pulled back at the same moment, their eyes holding the 'deer caught in the headlights' horrified stare.

"Oh fuck," he breathed, his body practically forcing out any alcohol and returning him to sobriety.

"Oh shit," Rinoa hissed, her body going through the same thing. Immediately they jumped away from each other and Rinoa clamped a hand over her mouth. _Fuck fuck fuck!!!_ she inwardly screamed at herself. Squall slammed back against the wall of the hotel and gripped his forehead.

"Um…excuse me?" a quiet voice came from beside them.

Both whipped their heads into the direction and saw one of the receptionists from the hotel. The woman nervously laughed and pointed at the door. "But um…you guys do realize that you didn't drive and that you simply came down the elevator? This…_is_ your hotel."

Squall was the first to recover and he straightened himself up. "Right—Right." He motioned for Rinoa to follow through the double doors. "Alcohol is a…uh…terrible _terrible_ thing," he said to the receptionist.

**A/N:** Sorry if any of the drink names have confused you, several friends of mine and family members are bartenders. If you're 21 get your ass to the nearest bar and get an AMF and an Ice Bomb and get happy!! If not…boo. Anyways, that whole conversation Rinoa and Squall had at the bar and outside was loosely based on true events between me and my fiancé…fucking alcohol.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Sorry I haven't been updating much anymore. I have come down with a throat infection that doctors somehow think they can cure with cough syrup. Long story. So, after telling both dimwit doctors that they should definitely rethink their professions, I have been bed ridden pretty much since my last update. Fun shit. Anyways, enjoy!

Squall gripped Rinoa's arm and held her steady as they exited the elevator. She desperately tried to pull away from him, stumbling against the wall. Squall's line of paces wasn't exactly better than hers. His grip remained firm and his boots noisily clomped on the carpet floor.

They made it to their room and Rinoa practically threw herself onto her bed. "Nice bed," she mumbled. "I love beds."

Squall locked the door and sat on the edge of his bed, tugging off his boots. "Exactly how much did we drink?"

Rinoa lifted her head. "Not enough to erase that memory."

"Yeah." Squall ran his hand over his mouth as if to rub away the taste of Rinoa's alcohol stained lips from his. It had been so long since he'd felt them, yet everything seemed so natural to have her pressed against him. It was as though she'd never left, even for those brief seconds.

Rinoa stared down at her nails while she noticed Squall crawling into his normal thinking pose. For so long she was doing so well in forgetting everything that had happened so she could focus all her energy in controlling her powers—in controlling herself. And now, after being back for not even a whole day, everything was crashing back down. "So…" she finally brought herself to say.

Squall raised his head and looked at her over his shoulder. "So…" he echoed. "What now?"

Rinoa forced herself to sit up. "We…forget this ever happened?"

"Sounds good," Squall agreed. "We'll never speak of it." He stood and walked to the bathroom to change. Before he made it to the door he paused. "You alright?"

Rinoa nodded and curled her legs under her. "Yeah. Just tired." When he closed the door she grabbed her pajamas and quickly changed before he came back out. She chucked her boots against the wall and yanked the covers over her head. "Fucking alcohol," she muttered.

XXX

Squall's dreams were filled with fast moving images and blurred faces right before him. For a brief second he saw Quistis' face, melancholy as tears started to stream down her cheeks. Suddenly he was flooded with quick images of the past, battles he had fought, lives that had been lost.

He found himself back in the cracked, deserted land he was trapped in after the defeat of Ultimecia. Not knowing what else to do, he walked. He knew nothing of how long he'd walked, for time was meaningless while dreaming. But after some time, he stopped, staring straight into Rinoa's back as she stood beneath the sunshine, beautiful roses entangled around her feet. She stood proud and tall, her spine straight as her arms rested along her sides. Entwined in her fingers was a black feather.

As Squall took a step forward he was immediately rushed with streaks of memories. But as he desperately tried to see through the pained memories of bloodshed and screams, he realized the memories were not his own. The screams were ringing in his head, piercing his eardrums, echoing. He shouted and gripped his temples, hoping and begging for the screams to silence. He shouted for Rinoa, who placed no reaction. Squall fell to his knees, then collapsing to his side. He felt as if the blood covered him, blanketing over his nostrils and suffocating him.

Squall shot up from his bed, wiping the sweat that had formed across his upper lip. "What the fuck," he whispered. He ran his hands through his hair and tried to shake off the feeling of unease the dream had left him with. Quickly he glanced at the clock and saw that it was just dawn. "Shit." As he was about to lay back down he heard a rustling from the bed beside him. In the dark with just a bit of dawn's light peeking through the curtains, he saw the silhouette of Rinoa, her body thrashing.

He reached over and turned on the light, hopping over and trying to wake her. "Rinoa, come on snap out of it," Squall said, one hand beside her head.

Rinoa winced and continued jolting before his eyes. "No…" she gasped. "Squall…?"

Squall leaned in more and tried shaking her, bringing her to a sitting position. "I'm right here; wake up it's just a dream."

Rinoa's head lolled back like a rag doll's, exposing her milky white throat, muscles jerking from her movements. "Run…" she whispered, practically a hushed growl.

Squall frowned and he felt a chill slither down his spine, causing him to loosen his grip on her. "What?" He resumed his grip and shook her again. "Rinoa, _wake up._"

"Run Squall," she whispered again, tears falling down her cheeks like rain. But it was what she said next that struck Squall deep. "Because I'm going to kill you," Rinoa said slowly.

His blood roared in his ears at the words. Squall all but threw her down and stood to his feet. "Enough of this," he muttered. "Rinoa! Wake the fuck up!"

Rinoa's eyes shot open and she sat up, yanking the covers away from her and grabbing a knife she had beneath her pillow that Squall didn't even know about. "What? What happened?" She felt moisture upon her cheeks and she wiped them away.

Squall turned on the light and she winced, covering her eyes with her arm. "What were you dreaming?" Squall asked.

Rinoa's eyes adjusted to the light and she scratched the back of her head. "What?"

"You were screaming something in your sleep," Squall prompted impatiently. "You called my name."

Rinoa leaned back against the head board. "I don't remember…" Then a mischievous grin overtook her face. "Was it one of those "Oh! Squall! Oh don't stop! Yes!" calling your name? Because I haven't had one of those in a while."

Squall sighed and went back over to his bed. "Stop fucking around," he snapped.

Rinoa giggled. "Why still so serious? I told you, I don't remember what I was dreaming."

"You sounded scared." Squall pulled the covers up to his abdomen. "You were telling me to run."

The grin faded from Rinoa's face as she listened to the details he gave her. "Anything else? I mean, I haven't had nightmares since…"

Squall laid his head down on the pillow and turned to face her. "You said you were going to kill me."

Rinoa's face shot up in his direction, her eyes wide yet unresponsive. Her hand traveled up with the sheet clutched between her fingers, raising to rest over her heart. "I said that?"

"Rinoa, _what_ is going on with you?"

She grabbed her cigarettes and lit one, picking up the astray with two fingers and settling it before her. "Have a cigarette with me," she begged, waiting for him to get his ready before going on. "I've had that dream before, only once though." She blew out a stream of smoke and sighed.

"How long ago?" Squall asked, now sitting on her bed in order to ash in the tray.

"Few years ago, when I was with Odine to control my powers," Rinoa said, keeping her head low as she spoke. "That day I was meditating, focusing all my energy into calm serenity." She gave a sarcastic laugh and blew her bangs out of her eyes. "It was fucking stupid, to have a whole day of peace and quiet to go to sleep with dreams of chaos and blood. I don't know why I had that dream, I wasn't thinking of killing you or even hurting you for that matter. Why it happened tonight is beyond me." She sucked on her cigarette again as she waited for a response from Squall.

"Is it because I'm here?" he said softly. "For the first time in five years we're forced to spend pretty much the whole day together."

Rinoa shrugged. "I don't know…All I know is I wanna take a nice long hot bath." After handing Squall the ashtray and crushing her cigarette into it she removed herself from the bed. "I'll keep the shower curtain closed in case you gotta piss," she called over her shoulder. Rinoa stifled a laugh when she heard Squall grumble and closed the door behind her.

Sighing, she stripped off her clothes once more, turning the knobs and waiting for the water to turn to a decent temperature. It was when steam floated up from the water's surface that she stepped into the large tub. She piled her hair atop the crown of her head and waited for the water to rise to her neck. Even though the room was slowly filling with steam, goosebumps threaded down the length of her body, her teeth chattering and nipples tightening at the cold that was within her.

She crossed her arms over her breasts, trying not to feel guilty over the fact that everything she'd told Squall about the dream had been a complete lie.

**A/N:** I know it's not as long as the one prior but you can't get them all the time!


	11. Chapter 11

"Rinoa, wake up, we have to go back to Balamb."

Rinoa groggily sat up at Squall's command. "Something wrong?" she managed to say through a yawn. She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision and she saw Squall walking around in faded black jeans with holes at the knees and a tight black wifebeater.

"No, but there's nothing else we can learn in Deling. We're going back to Balamb to talk to Cid and find you accommodations for the duration of your stay." Squall neatly folded his clothes into his suitcase and pulled a shirt over his head.

"Sounds like I'm getting a hotel room…" Rinoa sang, clapping her hands excitedly as she got out of bed. She rummaged through her clothes for a bit before yanking out an outfit and getting into the bathroom to change. She pulled on a stretchy black shirt that hung off her shoulders and clung to her ribs, exposing her flat belly above the jean capris and of course, her boots.

As she exited the bathroom she found Squall crouched low to the ground with his gunblade at his side. A feeling of danger washed over her and she caught a glimpse of something in the window. It was small, and on the building across from them. Suddenly there was a small explosion of light and Rinoa ducked, grabbing her dufflebag. "Time to go," she said as the bullet that was meant for her head stuck into the wall she was just in front of.

Squall grabbed his suitcase and ushered her out the door, running for the elevator. "Hopefully we can get to my car before they do."

"Do you think it's the same people as last time? At the train station?" Rinoa asked, keeping pace with him. They got to the elevator and Squall kept his gunblade to his side. The doors opened and they quickly ran out, tossing the room keys onto the receptionist desk.

Squall grabbed Rinoa and pulled her to the side, carefully poking his head around the threshold of the entrance. He saw the coast was clear, for now, and looked over to Rinoa. "Just stay close to me alright?"

Rinoa glanced up. _I'm not __**even**__ going to say it…_she thought. "Right, you just head to the car and I'll cover your back."

Squall nodded and snatched her hand, running out of the hotel and into the parking garage. A small sound reached Rinoa's ears and she shoved Squall behind a car, ducking behind another.

A barrage of bullets swarmed the ground, sinking into the metal of the cars used as shields. Squall swore beneath his breath and glanced at Rinoa. He saw her hands posed as if she were holing a precious jewel, her eyes closed as her lips moved quickly. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, glowing an eerie white as she rose her hands in the air. The metallic _plinks_ of the bullets hitting metal halted, and Squall dared a glance. The bullets were frozen in the air, moving slowly as if trying to force through rippling ice.

Rinoa shot to her feet and grabbed Squall by the collar of his shirt. "Move it Commander!!" They ran to his car and violently slammed inside, Squall stabbing the ignition and peeling out of the garage.

Squall kept an eye on the rear view mirror and sure enough, there were three identical black cars following them, attempting to flank them. "Rinoa," he called over the howl of the air blowing through the car as a result of his speeding. "There's a present for you in the back seat." With that said he flipped a switch and the sun roof peeled back.

Rinoa hastily twisted her body and tugged at a blanket. Her eyes widened at the sight of the HK21E machine gun and she grinned. "Just what I always wanted!" She scooped it up easily and looped the sling around her shoulders. Quickly she pulled herself through the roof and moved her fingers skillfully to prepare the belt of pointed bullets for destruction.

The three identical black cars rolled down their windows and men leaned out, aiming rifles at the speeding vehicle ahead of them. One caught sight of Rinoa's weapon and hesitated a brief second.

"Hello boys," Rinoa murmured, grinning as she pulled the trigger. She kept her ground as the machine gun shrieked, spraying bullets going 800 rounds per minute at their assailants. One of the cars swerved out of the way and attempted to sideswipe them. Squall reached over and pulled out his semi-compact Glock, moving it into his left hand swiftly and unloading several rounds into the car beside him before they could make their first move. Rinoa kept her finger pressed on the trigger as she raised her hand, fire shooting from her fingertips like ribbons, wrapping around the car to her left and engulfing them in flames. She sucked in a breath and waved her hand in front of her slowly, casting a protective border around the rear of Squall's car.

Squall grit his teeth as he tried to keep his grip on the steering wheels steady with his knees while he reloaded his gun in record timing along with shifting gears. The car beside him swerved, colliding into his side to force them off the road. Rinoa shouted as she was slammed against the side of the roof and ducked while the car behind them shot at her. Squall jerked the steering wheel, scraping his car against theirs. He lifted his Glock and fired at the hands of the driver who was so wrapped up in trying not to crash. "Hang on Rinoa!" he screamed.

Rinoa gripped onto the rim of the roof with one hand, keeping her rounds unleashing at the black car in back that was now joined by five more identical ones, as Squall gave a violent tug on the wheel, sending their car screeching sideways as the nose crashed against the car beside them. Their assailant slammed on their brakes a moment too late and was welcomed with Rinoa's machine gun breaking through the windshield with its shower of bullets.

Squall shifted the car into reverse and sped backwards through the highway of Deling. The following cars sped up; hoping that Squall's reversing would be their downfall. But instead Squall was more than skilled in the art of reversing a vehicle through a street in a hurry. He kept his eyes on the road behind him and ordered Rinoa to cover him.

"Aye aye captain!" Rinoa grinned, snatching up another belt for her gun. She quickly reloaded and focused her power to keep hold on the trigger while she rose a dark energy within her core. Quietly she murmured words to ignite the magical beast inside. Her eyes flared blue and her arms shot high into the sky. "Leviathan…drown the bastards!!"

Squall dared a quick glance forward and his eyes shot wide as he saw a ghostly Leviathan pour out of Rinoa's body, hovering above her like a phantom veil. Her power released from the trigger. Rinoa remained still, her arms high and fingers spread out painfully as she held control over the guardian. Leviathan coiled above his master and cracked open his jaws. With a mighty roar he dove forward, his lengthy body crashing down into the asphalt and exploding into a large, tumultuous wave. The cars tried to steer around but could not escape the tsunami of seawater ambushing them.

Rinoa closed her eyes at the sounds of gurgling screams that rose up from the water like a plague. She lowered her arms and slumped over the roof, exhausted as Leviathan seeped back into her body.

Squall braked and stared at the carnage that remained. His eyes scanned over the eight cars that now looked nothing like the sleek and dangerous automobiles that had pursued them. They were now covered in rust and rippling dents and were toppled over like playthings a child had grown tired of. Out of a window Squall could see the puffy, swollen, and gangrene arm of a driver hanging uselessly.

The streets were now dry. Nothing other than the bodies and the ruined cars suggested anything dealt with a monster and water from his depths. He looked over as Rinoa slowly came back into her seat, carefully holding her gun as if it were a treasure.

"Who were they?" she whispered, her eyes shadowed by her hair as she stared out at the slaughter before her.

Squall shrugged and turned off the car. "One way to find out." He exited and walked to where the cars lay. His ears perked at the sound of the passenger door opening and closing and he kept his finger on the trigger of his Glock. When he came to the nearest car he paused to cover his mouth and nose. "Fuck!" The flesh of the bodies in the car were splotched with blue bruises over gray skin, and smelled like corpses that had been baking in the hot beach sun for weeks. Their faces were hardly recognizable beyond the gray sloughing skin.

Rinoa stayed behind. She didn't need to be near the cars to know what lay inside them. She very well knew what Leviathan's powers were capable of. Instead she watched Squall professionally examine the closest body to find some sort of clue to their attackers. After a few moments Squall returned.

"What's the matter?" he muttered, wiping the grime onto his jeans. "Can't stand to see your handy work?"

Rinoa scoffed. "I know the aftermath of Leviathan's power. I knew the smell would be unbearable so I stayed here. There's no need for the both of us to gag on the stench."

"Whatever. Anyways, I found something that was on the sleeve of the driver but the water ate away most of the design." Squall scratched the back of his head and groaned at how the stench of the dead remained of his hands. Quickly he pulled off his black shirt and wiped whatever he hadn't removed before onto it. "It was like an outline of a shape. Like a circle or oval."

Rinoa frowned. "No idea," she said. Sighing, she looked to the wreckage. "So what do we do about the mess? I mean, we can't just leave it here."

"We'll have to call the military to clean it up. The officers will have to take the bodies to the hospitals to investigate, see if they can get something out of them." Squall slung the dirtied t-shirt over his shoulder.

"Military," Rinoa murmured absently.

Squall looked over to her and gave a mock sympathetic pat on her back. "Yeah, you get to see your daddy."

**A/N:** Yeah I know, the action's kinda iffy but whatever. So now I know how I'm ending the story just working my ass to get there. :)


	12. Chapter 12

Sirens wailed and tires burned across the asphalt as they rushed to the scene. The street of Deling was filled with spectators; an odd sight so early in the morning for that part of the city was mainly for nightlife. 

A crowd had formed around Rinoa, several staring in awe while others looked down upon her, saying unnecessary comments like "There's that sorceress", "She caused all this mayhem", "Sorceresses aren't good for shit", "We'd be better off if they all just died", "I hope this disease wipes them out."

Squall overheard the comments while conversing with one of the military assistants. He glanced over to Rinoa who sat on the ground, her arms over her head as if trying to block out the harsh words as she bent over her knees. One man in particular was hovering over Rinoa, spitting as many insults as possible to her. Her body was still, her hair spilling out over her arms like a silk curtain.

True, they weren't exactly the best of friends, but it didn't exactly make him the happiest when he saw people blatantly saying cruel things over her head. When he was about to excuse himself from the military assistant, Rinoa lifted her head just slightly. Even with her hair obscuring her features, he saw her eyes. Within the few months they had spent together, he had become quite accustomed to reading the looks in her eyes. Her eyes were glazed over with a wet sheen. She was trying so hard to keep herself from crying. The tears were behind the glass of her eyes, desperately trying to break through and flow down the curves of her face.

Instantly, Squall departed from the assistant and stood beside Rinoa, pushing himself through the crowd. "Is there a problem here?" he demanded sternly, his eyes thundering in the direction of the one man. Rinoa glanced up to Squall. The man did not answer and gave Squall an arrogant scoff. "Maybe you didn't hear me," Squall stated. "I asked if there was a problem."

The man rolled his eyes. "Yeah. The problem is that this fucking sorceress is here—_alive_—and causing trouble in our town. You're SeeD right? Why don't you do your fucking job and cut her fucking head off? It'd save us a lot of trouble." Some of the spectators exclaimed their agreement and the man nodded haughtily. 

Squall kept his cool despite the itching desire to unleash his fury and break the man's nose. "The sorceresses have caused no trouble in the past five years. The only reason this mess happened was because the men opened fire on us. We were only defending ourselves. There's no need for you to harass her when she's done nothing to you."

The man laughed. "Whatever you say pretty boy. This world would be better without the likes of her and you know. She'll probably destroy us all in a minute." He looked down at Rinoa and grinned. "I bet if I refused to buy her a pretty bracelet she'd release a temper tantrum and kill me." He turned his bigot face to Squall. "You protecting her because she's a good lay?"

Squall narrowed his eyes at the man. 

The man looked back to Rinoa and his hands went to his belt buckle and rested there. "I guarantee my dick's bigger baby," he said, leaning in and kissing Rinoa's hair sloppily.

"Get the fuck off me you—!" she shrieked. But before she could finish her sentence Squall intervened and slammed the man against the light post.

"You do _not_ touch her man," he snarled, his fists around the man's collar. The man's friends came up behind Squall and some swung punches at his back. 

Rinoa screamed and desperately tried to pull them away from him. Squall broke away from the men punching him and threw the insulting man to the ground. Rinoa stepped in between the group of men that tried to cold cock Squall again while he took the man out. One of the men slashed a fist at Rinoa and she dodged, the guy's fist grazing her shoulder. She reeled back and smashed her knuckles into his nose, blood gushing from the crack.

Squall grabbed the man by the collar again and swiped another punch into his cheek. The man squirmed beneath Squall's fury. 

A gunshot fired and everyone stilled. Squall paused in a punch he was about to pull forward and he glanced up. Rinoa shoved a man trying to hurt her. All the spectators turned to see a large row of military men and women surrounding them with guns at arms. And there in the center was General Fury Caraway with a pistol in the air, smoke rising from the barrel.

"Having a fun time children?" he said, his eyes shielded by thick black sunglasses. "Away from the girl," he ordered sternly to men with their hands on Rinoa. They were too petrified to move and Caraway aimed his gun at them. "I'll not say it again gentlemen."

The men released her and she straightened her shirt, moving her glaring eyes to ground and breathing deeply.

"Squall," Caraway said, moving his arm down and tucking his gun into the holster at his thigh. "You may desist in injuring the man."

Squall obeyed and dropped the man to the ground. One of the uniforms came to him and handed him something, whispering an order into his ear.

The bruised man stood up, brushed himself off, and spit at Squall's feet. "Fucking prick," he snarled. Squall glanced at him and shoved him to the wall, handcuffing him and forcing him to sit on the curb.

Before the man could protest Caraway interrupted. "Rinoa, contain the men who attacked you if you please." He nodded to the military men beside him and they aided her in cuffing her assailants. "You men are charged with assault and battery. My men saw the whole thing so do not even to attempt in fighting the charges. And I will have you know that the young woman you men attacked is my one and only daughter." The men sighed and cursed beneath their breath. Caraway gestured to some of his men. "Take them away."

Rinoa rubbed her arm where the man had hit her. He had to be wearing a ring and it cut her skin. She looked over to Squall and saw him wiping the blood from his cheekbone. "You ok?" she whispered to him, adjusting his sleeve.

"Yeah. You?" He gently took her arm and tried not to laugh.

"What?"

"A stone from his ring is stuck in your skin."

Rinoa rose her brows and stared down. And sure enough, stuck in the meat of her arm, was a green stone. "Oh shit!"

Caraway came up to them and took Rinoa's arm into his hands. "Come this way." He led them to the medical ambulance and forced her to sit in the open back. "You did a number on that man's face."

Rinoa glanced up at him beneath the fringe of her bangs. "…So?"

Caraway picked up some needle nose tweezers and kept her arm steady. "Proud you still can take care of yourself."

Rinoa sighed and braced herself as he skillfully moved the tweezers around her skin to get the stone out. "I'm the daughter of the famous General Fury Caraway," she muttered. "I _should _know how to take care of myself after having you as a father."

Caraway nodded and plucked the stone out, reaching over for gauze as Rinoa winced. He wrapped her up and looked to Squall. "How's your wound?"

Squall shrugged. "I've dealt with worse. I'll live."

"Alright." Caraway straightened his spine. "How are you feeling Rinoa?"

Rinoa hopped out of the vehicle. "I'm great." She kicked a pebble that was by her foot. "I haven't felt any different." She looked over to her father. "Have you heard anything about this? Do you know what's going on?"

Caraway crossed his arms. "I have heard several things. Lately there have been speculations about a conspiracy." His eyes scanned over Rinoa's features and he sighed. "You know about the mark."

Rinoa looked deep into his eyes. "Yes. And to be honest I don't know whether to thank you or be upset over you not ever telling me."

Caraway nodded and stepped away from the ambulance. "Rinoa, I would like to talk to you about this privately if you don't mind. Perhaps we could talk over dinner."

Rinoa swallowed and nodded slowly. "Yeah…yeah I'd like that. Sure."

Squall heard the tremor in her voice and shoved his hand in his pocket to grip his keys.

Caraway clicked his tongue and started to walk away. "Where are you staying? Balamb?"

Rinoa nodded. "I think maybe the hotel. If anything, I'll be at the Garden."

"Alright, I'll see you around seven?"

"Awesome. Later Caraway." Rinoa clutched Squall's bicep and shoved him in the direction of his car. "Let's get going yeah?"

They got into the car and Rinoa softly closed the door beside her and rubbed her head. Squall started the car and pulled it into drive.

"Thank you," Rinoa whispered.

"What?"

"Thank you," she repeated, pulling the cigarettes from the glove compartment. She quickly lit one up. "For getting that man away from me when he tried kissing me."

Squall looked over to her as they pulled out of Deling. "You're welcome." He moved his eyes back to road. He lit himself a cigarette and leaned his skull against the headrest. "They shouldn't have said that shit," he put in absently.

Rinoa scratched her head. "Maybe they were right…if there were no sorceresses; there might not have been any wars."

Squall scoffed. "No. Knowing us humans we would have started wars out of pure boredom." He looked over to her. "We need you Rinoa. Sorceresses of the past have been evil sure, but you are a new generation. I'm sure you'll prove them all wrong."

"Thank you Squall," she said. She gently placed her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry…for everything. I really am." Rinoa removed her hand and stared out the window. _It's just the beginning…_


	13. Chapter 13

Cid personally checked Rinoa into her own hotel. He cheerfully carried her bags into her room and set them gently on the ground. "Pretty nice set up isn't it?" he asked, smiling as he looked around approvingly.

Rinoa gave the man a polite smile. "Yes, thank you so much."

Even through her sincere gratitude he sensed sadness within her. "What is the matter child?"

She glanced over to him and shrugged. "Just…worried. I'll be sitting down with my father—the two of us alone—for the first time in _years_ and I'm afraid he'll be disappointed yet again."

Cid frowned. "What—about you being a sorceress? That's preposterous Rinoa." He sat upon the mattress and patted the cushion beside him. "Come, tell me all about it."

xxx

Squall inhaled deeply on his cigarette while Quistis questionably stared at him. He rose an eyebrow at her through the smoke. "What?"

"How many packs have you gone through in the one day you've been gone?" she accused.

"I don't know…one and a half maybe?" He picked up his cigarette box and held it before her nose, proudly showing there were exactly ten cigarettes in there. "See? One and a half packs." He tossed it down onto the table and leaned back.

Quistis sighed and fingered the pack aimlessly.

xxx

Selphie tapped her pencil frantically atop her notebook. The scientist was telling her nothing she didn't already know. Moments before she and Irvine got to the laboratory she had phoned Cid and received information the others had given him. Now the scientist before her was babbling on like he had discovered it first.

Irvine had conveniently left for a drink of water—twenty minutes ago. Selphie inwardly growled. Not able to take it any longer, she stood to her feet. "Obviously you do not know anything other than what I already have, so, if that will be all I am so leaving."

The scientist stared in disbelief. "But…I—"

"Are wasting my time," Selphie said. "Here's my number, call me if anything _new_ comes up. I am going to talk to the sorceresses here. When my cohort comes back, talk to him please."

Selphie walked down the hallway to the room where the sorceresses were resting. She came upon a young woman a few years older than she. Selphie gently sat down beside her. "Hello," she said softly to her.

The women had her eyes barely closed but she smiled in greeting. "Hello," she whispered.

"How are you feeling?" Selphie asked, her eyes roaming the charts that were tacked to the woman's bed. Thinking it might be of importance, Selphie quickly copied down what information she could.

"Can you check on my little sister?" the woman asked. "They took her to quarantine…I worry."

Selphie nodded. "Of course. Her name?"

"Laina," the woman asked. "She's about twelve."

Selphie excused herself and assured the woman to rest. "Two sorceresses in one family," she whispered to herself as she walked. "Extraordinary."

"No," a raspy voice said beside her. Selphie turned to see an old woman with test tubes weaving around her body. The woman looked up, the tubes rattling as she moved in her bed. "They are not sisters."

Selphie came over to the woman. "But she said—"

The woman painfully waved her hand in dismissal. "We all call our juniors as our little sisters," she coughed. "We all have Hyne's blood in us."

Selphie gently adjusted the pillow behind the woman's head, her hair spilling over her fingers like liquid snow. "What is happening to you all?" she asked absently. "Why now?"

"We have dreams," the old woman managed to rasp out. "Dreams of the past. We see Hyne overlooking this land, her eyes full and sad." The old woman winced in pain. "She hurts…her heart…her heart is gone."

Selphie gasped and tried to ease the woman's pain, asking her what hurt and if she needed to get a doctor.

"We feel each others pain…Laina…"

Selphie jumped up and ran to quarantine, the soles of her boots slapping the tiled floor as she hurried, weaving through the hospital beds of the other sorceresses writhing in pain. Several medical assistants were trailing her quickly, heading to the quarantine as well.

Selphie pushed through the doors, stopping in her tracks as Laina was whipping around madly in her bed, assistants holding her down as they inserted a sedative into her arm to ease her pain. Laina screamed, the tubes needled in her arms ripping out as she thrashed.

The monitor tracking her heart beat beeped rapidly.

xxx

Cid had his arm around Rinoa comfortingly as she held her head in her hands. "So…that's why you left." He gave her another squeezing hug.

"Yes," Rinoa sobbed. "Don't tell Squall," she begged.

Cid shook his head. "I will not. But you my dear need to tell him what you've just told me."

Rinoa sighed and sat up straight, her fingers wiping away the tears that beaded beneath her eyes. "I know…I know I do. But I just…he already isn't fond of me and me telling him that will just…possibly through that through overdrive."

"He still has a right to know." Cid removed his arm and stood to his feet. "Tell him after you've finished dinner with your father."

Rinoa glanced up. "Yeah…I'll finish with one man I've avoided my whole life and then explain everything to the man whose heart I fucked with. Life is so fun."

Cid chuckled and opened the door. "No one ever said life would be easy. Who ever did obviously has not lived."

Rinoa gave a small smile. "Thank you Cid."

He nodded and disappeared though the doorway, gently closing it behind him.

Rinoa shakily stood beside her bed, resting a hand over her heart. Suddenly, a lurch caused her to double over. She hissed in agony as she could feel her insides churn in turmoil. Gasping, she clenched the comforter of her bed, her nails digging in and clawing, fabric shredding beneath the points.

xxx

Selphie screamed as Laina rose from her bed, the medical assistants practically thrown off by her power. Laina's blue eyes immediately shot into Selphie's direction, her blonde hair swirling around her like a billowing dress.

"SeeD…" she growled deeply. "SeeD must _DIE!!_" Laina screeched as she leapt into the air, her hands stretched out with talons aimed at Selphie's throat.

Selphie instinctively grabbed her weapon but before she could raise it in defense a body stepped before her.

Irvine kept his arm braced in front of him, keeping Laina off of Selphie. He grunted as he moved the body of his shot gun, pushing forward to throw her off. Laina fell to the ground and scrambled to her hands and knees. Irvine kept the barrel aimed at her. "Selphie! RUN!"

"No she's just a child!" she shouted.

Spit dribbled down Laina's chin. Violently she twisted and writhed, screams echoing around her from her blood sorceresses. She threw her head back and shrieked. Three medical assistants pounced on her, wrapping her up to keep her from hurting anyone or herself. Still growling, her eyes landed back on Selphie.

Irvine quickly hustled Selphie out the door. Selphie gasped for breath as she leaned against the wall, still hearing the screams and shouts from the room behind her. Laina's eyes flashed before her memory, implanted directly onto her brain. While Irvine went back into quarantine to aid the assistants, Selphie sobbed in remorse for the girl.

Her eyes were no longer hers. Surrounding the blue were red streaks, swirling like blood in water. Covering her face were black veins, her teeth her sharpened fangs. The sorceresses were moaning in their beds, hands clenched as the pain surfaced.

Selphie heard one final scream from Laina in the room.

And then the rest was silence.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Hey look!! It's an update! Sorry for the long wait. Massive overtime which means less time to write.

Rinoa sat with her father across from her, her eyes staring down into her untouched tea. Her fingers rested upon the glossy surface of the table while her father sipped at his own cup.

"I see you haven't changed," he said lowly, keeping his posture steady as he placed his cup back. "When I heard of your sudden disappearance, I was worried."

Rinoa looked up and gave a small smile. "I'm sure you were." She grasped her spoon and unnecessarily stirred the drink. "I had a lot going on."

Caraway nodded and skimmed over his menu once more. "I believed it had something to do with your sorceress powers." He glanced to her once before continuing. "Though I must admit I had assumed you had taken Squall along as well."

She shrugged and then turned a gentle grin at the waiter that approached.

"Yes, my daughter and I shall share the rock lobster," Caraway said to him after the waiter had greeted. "And plenty of butter and lemon."

Rinoa laughed softly, twirling a lock of her hair between her fingers. "I haven't heard that in a while," she said.

Caraway nodded and folded a napkin over his lap. "It has been a long time since we've sat down for a nice dinner hasn't it?"

"Yeah…" Rinoa breathed and leaned back against the leather seats. Absentmindedly she tapped her fork with a long fingernail.

XXX

Squall leaned back against the headboard of his bed, his thumb mercilessly tapping the buttons on the remote to change the channels.

Quistis came out of the bathroom with the towel draped across her breasts, her blue eyes scanning over Squall's bored features. She sighed and walked to the other side of the room, scooping up her clothes.

Growling in defeat, Squall tossed the remote to the ground after shutting off the television. He glanced over in Quistis' direction, his brows lifting slightly at the sight of her lowering her towel, the cloth slung around her hips.

But looking at her bare back, he was suddenly reminded of another woman standing before him in a similar pose. And the same stirring that occurred within his loins when he saw Rinoa rose again. Without drawing attention from Quistis, he sat up and tried his hardest to push his pants down, grabbing a magazine that was beside the bed to keep his attention.

XXX

"We thought it best to never tell you," Caraway said, cracking open a lobster claw. "We were hoping you wouldn't be chosen."

Rinoa chewed on her piece of meat and swallowed. "What did you know about sorceresses then?"

Caraway wiped his mouth and took a sip from his water. "That they were dangerous. As a military official it was my duty to understand everything about the sorceresses in history. At one point or another, the power drove them all mad."

"But Edea was possessed."

Caraway nodded. "Very true. The history behind Ultimecia is still being researched. The fact that she is a woman from the future definitely is a wall for our scientists."

Rinoa shrugged. "What do you know about the sorceresses _now?_"

Caraway laughed and tore off the lobster's tail, running his fork over the meat to loosen it. "I was waiting for that." He looked up at her with a serious gleam in his eyes. "I will tell you something that only I and my research team know. But you must promise not to repeat it."

Rinoa rose her brows. "What?"

"For years—centuries really—" Caraway glanced around quickly before continuing and leaned forward. "Hyne has been under our watch."

Rinoa's jaw dropped. "_What?_" she whispered. "But she's—"

"Been dead?" Caraway smiled and shook his head. "She's a goddess my child, immortal. She will never age. Never die." He waved his hand in dismissal. "And unfortunately for us, she will also never awaken. He own personal vigils protected her slumbering body after she exerted herself in giving the gift of power to her children. And when I say children, I simply mean the humans. When technology came into the picture, her watchers gave her to the military—a secret service—to keep her protected. She's been under my watch for maybe twenty-five years."

Rinoa simply stared at her father as he nonchalantly gave her the most top secret information she ever could have heard in her life. "I can't believe…"

"Believe it Rinoa. And the only reason I am sharing this information with you is because you are indeed the head sorceress at this moment in time. And that is something you should know. Especially with all this going on."

Rinoa blinked. "Some of the sorceresses are dreaming the past, believing it to be Hyne sending them messages."

Caraway nodded as he took another drink. "I wouldn't doubt it. She's been asleep for centuries but there's still power within her. But there is something that we—"

A beeping came from his front pocket and he rose a finger to Rinoa in pardon. He glanced at the number on the screen before standing up and excusing himself.

Rinoa sighed and stabbed her fork into the shredded flesh of lobster. "Here we go…" she muttered to herself.

Ten minutes later slowly ticked by before Caraway returned. His face stone-still as ever, he said, "I'm sorry to cut this short Rinoa, but there's been an incident at the hospital in Timber."

Rinoa lifted her head as she realized that was hospital Selphie and Irvine had gone to. "Selphie?"

"She's alright. They were attacked by a younger sorceress. The child has fallen into a comatose state, but now the other sorceresses in that hospital are following her same aggressive suit." Caraway set down some money onto the table. "There's enough for dessert if you'd like as well. I'm sorry."

Rinoa shrugged her shoulders as she picked at the half-eaten rock lobster. "It's alright. I'm used to it."

Caraway nodded and bowed his head to her. Hesitantly, for a brief second, he placed a hand on her shoulder before walking away.

Waiting until after she was sure he had left, Rinoa leaned forward over the table and rested her forehead in her palms. "Nope," she sighed. "Nothing's changed."


	15. Chapter 15

**Why hello there lovelies!! It's an update that should have been here a while ago BUT I kept adding and adding and split it into two chapters. Read on!**

XXX

Selphie and Irvine sat before Cid, their heads down as he read over the shakily written reports they had handed to him. Cid looked up to them over the edge of the papers. He cleared his throat, waiting for them to raise their heads before her set the papers down. "I'm glad to hear you both are alright," he said softly.

Selphie wearily sighed as she brushed away a tear that dribbled down her chin. "She was just a child…" she whispered.

Irvine firmly planted his hand over hers. "She tried to hurt you," he rumbled.

Even though it was the bitter truth Selphie couldn't help but shed more tears for the young child whose life was severed within the hospital.

Cid rose from his seat and stood beside Selphie, his hand reassuringly upon her shoulder. "My dear, I think it best you recede yourself from this particular mission. There are several other young children whose lives are stake. I don't want you to put yourself in this horrible situation."

Selphie furiously shook her head as the tears trailed their way down to her lap. "No!" she cried. "No. I can do this. I won't stand by and let whatever bastard is doing this continue to ransack the lives of these girls! I _have_ to be on this mission—to make sure no other children suffer like Laina did."

Cid nodded. "Yes, I understand." He glanced out the window and frowned. The sun was already gone, faded into the night sky and was replaced with millions of twinkling stars. He hadn't realized time had gone by so fast. He waited patiently for Selphie and Irvine to return from Timber, his reports and phone calls with the military and scientists sucking up his day. "Well then, I suggest you two get something to eat and head home. There's nothing more to be done today."

Irvine kept a steady hold upon Selphie's arm as he helped her out of her seat.

"But we need to—" Selphie cried.

"That is an order cadet!" Cid barked.

The sudden outburst shocked both Selphie and Irvine into a standstill. Hardly ever was Cid seen out of a calm and gentle form.

Cid massaged his temple. "My apologies," he whispered. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. But please, _please_ go home. Get some rest. Anything that you feel needs to be done must wait." He turned his back to them to gaze at the stars that loomed before him.

XXX

Squall turned over, slamming his hand onto the absurdly loud contraption. He grumbled and slowly sat up. "Morning already?" he muttered. As he glanced to the window he noticed it was still dark. Confused, he looked to his clock and realized it was his cell phone and not alarm clock that had gone off. Quickly he snatched it up, frowning as he did not recognize the number that flashed on the screen. "Leonhart," he said.

"Hey Squall," a soft voice replied.

Her voice was so timid. It was nothing like how it had been in the time she had made her presence known. When she came back to Balamb her voice had been strong, fierce. It was the voice of a woman full of power—dangerous power. She had hardened as if ice had wrapped around her, preventing any feelings and emotions from penetrating.

But now her voice sounded…shattered.

Squall looked beside him to where Quistis lay sleeping. Careful not to disturb her, he crept out of bed and out to his patio. The night was warm enough to go without a shirt but the hairs on the back of his neck remained standing on end.

"What's wrong?"

"Can you come over?" Rinoa said, leaning back against the wall as she nervously twirled her hair around her finger. "I just…really need someone to talk to and smoke with."

Squall was so silent on the other line she thought he had hung up. She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the screen to be sure. "If you can't it's ok. I'd understand." She waited for response and still received nothing. Rinoa looked down at her toes and sighed. "It's ok…sorry I woke you up."

Thoughts should have been running through Squall's head but he was caught in a blank state of mind. He stared out into the open sky with his mouth hung open. His mind started to function, demanding he say something before she hung up. _Say __**something!!**_ it screamed at him. "How…" he dumbly started.

Rinoa arched a brow. Did he just speak? "Huh?"

"How did you get my number?" Squall winced after the sentence came out of his mouth. Inwardly he kicked himself.

"Um…it's the same number you had back then?" Rinoa answered.

"Oh," was all Squall could reply. He looked behind him to his apartment. "This isn't really a good time Rinoa…"

Rinoa hugged her knees. "I promise I won't keep you out too late."

Squall sighed and ran his fingers over his head. While Rinoa waited for his response—while _he_ waited for what he would tell her—she coiled her hair around her finger, nervously chewing on her bottom lip. "Alright," he said finally, his voice barely over a breath. He glanced up and could see the hotel down the street from him. "I'm gonna walk over there so it'll be about fifteen minutes. What room?"

"I'm on the third floor, room 326," Rinoa told him.

"Alright, bye." Squall hang up and stared down at the phone in his hand. It was nearly two in the morning. Quietly he slipped back into his room, rummaging through his drawers as silently as he could. He tugged on a pair of black jeans and a shirt over his bare chest.

Rinoa calmly set her phone upon the couch beside her. She curled her legs up tighter so her chin rested atop her knees. When Caraway left her at the restaurant she remained sitting there, ordering a glass of Jack Daniels and Coke and just _staring_ into the foam that skimmed over the ice of her drink. The whole time she was thinking, thinking about how to approach Squall and tell him the real reason she had left.

She sighed and looped her long hair into a ponytail atop her head, keeping her back exposed to the open window, letting the cool night air whisper across her flesh. She was in nothing but her bra and panties, and decided it would probably be best for her to be completely dressed before Squall came over. As she fished through her suitcase that she had yet to unpack, she yanked out cotton shorts and a camisole.

Ten minutes went by and Squall stood in front of her door. He hesitated before knocking, his fist in the air as he slowly breathed though his nose. He wasn't even sure why he had dropped everything to come to her again. He didn't even know what she wanted him over there for in the first place. What would she want to talk to him about at two in the morning that couldn't be said over the phone? He hoped it was some information on what was happening with the sorceresses. And maybe because she is a sorceress, she needed the physical support by telling it to him in person.

He cleared his throat and knocked on the door.

Rinoa answered and smiled softly at him. "Hey, thanks for coming over." She closed the door behind him and stifled a laugh when she saw he had his gunblade strapped to his back and his Glock nestled tightly into the back of his jeans. "You had to bring the artillery?" she asked, showing him the couch while she sat across from him on her bed.

"You know you can never be too careful," he responded, crossing his arms across his chest while he looked at her. "So then, what's going on? Have you found something new about the sorceresses?"

Rinoa raised her brow. "Can we not talk about that now?" she whispered. "I've been talking about it all day long with Caraway," she lied. "I want to talk about something else."

"Like what?"

Rinoa lowered her lashes. "I don't know…other things maybe?" She was starting to feel foolish. She knew she really didn't have the courage to tell him why she really left. _This _was the exact reason why she could never tell him in the first place. Even though it had only been a couple days, she had inwardly been dreading this exact moment. She could never figure out how to put it into words.

Squall stared at her. "Such as…?" he asked, stretching the question to receive her input. While he waited for her to speak he noticed her crossing her legs. Then he noticed how much her legs were bare, and how revealing her night outfit really was. Her top exposed her flat belly, the thin straps showing off her toned arms while her shorts barely covered much. A thought sprang into his head though it wasn't something he'd expected from her. "What you invited me over to fuck?"

"What?" Rinoa raised her head instantly. "No!" She frowned at him in disgust. "How could you think—Squall, I invited you over because I wanted to explain to you why I had left!"

"Oh so _now_ you want to talk about it?" he snapped.

Rinoa crossed her arms over her breasts. "If you don't want to know it anymore then tell me or just leave. There's the fucking door!"

Squall sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Ok, ok I'm sorry," he said. "Just calm down." He pulled his cigarettes from his pocket and lit one up. "Have a cigarette."

Taking his advice, she gave a short laugh and pulled out her own pack. "Sorry, it's just frustrating…this whole situation. I'm on edge lately."

"I know, we all are." He turned to the side and pulled an ashtray closer to him. "Now, tell me, please."

Rinoa sighed and shook her ponytail loose. "Squall…If I hadn't left, you would have been killed." She leaned against the wall and stared into her hands that lay in her lap.

Squall straightened his spine. "Did someone threaten you? Was it Odine?"

"No, no…it wasn't like that." Rinoa lifted her head, her eyes locking with his as she took a deep breath. "I know you won't believe it but—" She grumbled and rubbed her temples. "_Fuck_ this is why I didn't tell you earlier!" she wailed. "It's so hard to explain…"

All Squall could do was stare at her while he waited for the explanation he'd been demanding for.

Rinoa sighed once more and looked him in the eyes again. "If I hadn't left…Ultimecia would have killed you."

There was a stream of silence as her answer sank into his mind. "You're fucking with me right?" he said finally. "Do you not recall the time where we _killed_ Ultimecia? Do you not remember because you were in fact _there._"

"Squall…"

Abruptly he stood to his feet. "This is just a waste of time." He turned towards the door.

Rinoa gasped in surprise and stood as well. "Squall no! You don't get it—_I'm_ Ultimecia!"

XXX

**A/N: Guess what the next chapter's going to be about?? It's going to be a LOOOOOOONG one so prepare yourself! Hope you liked this one. If there's errors it's because it's almost 6 in the morning and I'm too tired to proofread.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Here's Rinoa's explanation. **

**xxx**

It was as if ice itself had formed within Squall's body, crackling as it spread through his veins as he froze with his hand upon the doorknob. His breath left him for mere seconds as he tried to understand. He slowly turned to face her, a pain in his heart as he saw the pure sorrow twisted in Rinoa's face as she sincerely thought he was about to leave.

"Ultimecia's from the future…_how_ are you her?" he breathed.

Rinoa sighed and sat back down onto the bed. She curled her legs up so her chin rested on her knees. "Right before I left, I had a vision. I saw our future." She glanced up at him. "Please sit down," she begged.

Squall couldn't help but obey. The voice coming through her lips was the same helpless, vulnerable voice he had heard years ago. Hearing it again, it would take everything he had not to succumb to it. He sat on the edge of the bed, facing her as he waited for her to continue.

"I saw…I saw us five years from then—So about this time. I had never controlled my powers; I thought they were suppressed enough to never worry about them. You and I got into an argument over who knows what, and I stormed out of our house."

A tear started to squeeze out the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away before continuing. "My anger, my rage, my malevolent feelings and emotions emerged, taking control over me. My powers soon became my emotions— irrational, unreasonable. I was soon lost in a daze." Rinoa sucked in her breath and covered her eyes with one hand. "I soon started to hurt everything and everyone around me! I was lost in my own rage…I killed everyone," she whispered. She moved her hand, keeping her eyes shut as she kept her head faced down. "Selphie, Zell, Quistis, Irvine, Cid, Edea…I took over the entire city Balamb and turned it into a slaughter ground."

Rinoa tried to smile. "And the only good thing itself was fleeting. You being you went off to blow off steam, going into the forest to take your frustration on the monsters." Her breath shook. "But even that didn't help you. You came back to Balamb and saw the carnage, saw the bodies I had left in the streets."

Squall just sat there, his breath catching in his throat as he listened to what Rinoa had to say. He watched her sit, her hands grasping each other as tears slowly formed down her cheeks.

"You came home," she whispered, "Saw the blood over my body, the corpses around me, you saw the monster that had emerged." Rinoa sucked in a shaky breath. "You tried to break through to me, tried to remind me who I really was. But it didn't stop me."

Rinoa looked up at him with wet eyes. "Squall…I _killed_ you. Your heart was sitting there in my hand!"

Squall froze, the hairs along his arms standing tall. "…what?" he breathed.

Rinoa shook her head, the tears coming faster. "So you see? I couldn't stay! I _had_ to leave you Squall, if I hadn't, this point in time your heart would be in the palm of my hand!"

Squall shook his head, trying to understand _how_ a calm and gentle creature like Rinoa could suddenly release carnage onto the peaceful city of Balamb. "But how…?"

"Ultimecia," Rinoa whispered. "After the vision I called Odine. Everything I had told him was the exact reason why he desperately tried to keep me sealed in the first place. He told me to pack up everything and to leave. I was ordered not to tell anyone of my departure." Rinoa paused and grabbed a cigarette. "I had to leave most of my things in storage. A good majority of my training requested that I forget everything—my past, my friends, family, my love. I had to push it all aside in order to focus, in order to control myself so I wouldn't become this killing creature."

"That's why you left the ring," Squall murmured. "And your duster."

Rinoa nodded. "I couldn't take your ring with me, I didn't think it fair to disappear and take your own ring with me. And the duster…I hadn't even realized I left it. Most of my things are still in storage, I haven't seen them since I put them there." She took a long hit off her cigarette, her free hand falling onto the bed, useless. "It was a long five years."

Absentmindedly, Squall placed his hand over hers. "It really was," he told her.

She lifted her head, smiling softly at him. "It was…really hard to take when I was told I was Ultimecia. At first, I thought I was just a sorceress going mad, I had no idea I was _her._"

"How did you find out?"

Rinoa chewed her lip and glanced up at the ceiling. "After a week of being in training, I had more visions—most of them of you and I—but there was one that disturbed me. I saw myself after I wrecked destruction to Balamb. I was contained by the military. My father was the only one who showed me compassion. I pulled myself through, as if I were in a fog, concealing me and keeping me from making the right decisions. It was almost like being possessed again, only I was the one doing the possessing."

Sighing, Rinoa turned and crushed the cigarette. "I begged Caraway to find a way to remove the sorceress power from me. At first they refused, saying that since my blood is that of the sorceress, my life would be in danger. But I didn't care. I was willing to take the risk, seeing how I myself had removed the only thing worth living for."

Squall squirmed in his seat, his fingers lacing through hers as she spoke.

"They were able to remove my powers," she said finally, her voice low. "I died in the process. But my powers, they somehow were able to conceal it in a chamber…but my power grew, creating its own body." Rinoa swallowed and rubbed her temple. "For centuries this power sat, growing, accumulating more and more strength. It was my power, and it held onto my memories. It created its own mind, its own body, it became Ultimecia. She still had my memories, and was consumed by grief and insanity. For centuries she was alone, locked within this chamber. She had nothing to rely on but herself. She became so powerful that she broke through the chamber with ease, killing everyone. She remembered you, remembered our love and our past. She desperately tried to find you again. With my memories she knew where to find the ring, and created Greiver. It was all she had, the only tie she had to you."

Rinoa glanced up at Squall. "So you see? She wanted time to stand still, she wanted the time where you and I were together to come back."

Squall could only stare at her as she finished her tale. He couldn't think of anything to say to her—what _could_ he say to her? "I…"

"That's why I left," Rinoa said. "I left to protect you—all of you. And I knew that if I had told you you'd try your hardest to keep me here. I had to…because the last thing I wanted to hurt you. And I know I did anyway but…at least you're alive right?"

Squall released her hand, running his fingers over his hair. "That…this is a lot to take it…" he mumbled, his eyes wide as they glued to the carpet floor. "I just…can't believe it. That a reason so huge, so drastic, was why you had left. I mean, five years is a long time to have that hanging over your head."

"Yeah…" Rinoa crossed her legs, her hands at her thighs as she hunched her back to stretch. "I'm just glad I told you. I didn't want to at first; I wasn't sure how you'd react. But I really wanted you to know I left for a life-threatening reason, and not because I didn't love you or something."

Squall sighed, lifting his head, his fingers steepled at his chin. "So you did love me?" he whispered.

Rinoa scoffed, nudging his thigh with her knee. "Of course I loved you," she laughed. "I wouldn't have told you—or said it everyday to you—if I didn't."

His eyes traveled to the side without moving his head. "'Loved?'" he said. "So…that means you don't anymore?"

Rinoa arched a brow. "It's not like it matters much anymore does it? I mean, you have Quistis. And you look really happy with her."

"Answer the question Rinoa."

She stood to her feet and toyed with her hair. "Squall…it doesn't matter. You have someone who'll be there for you—and won't _kill_ you. My powers are controlled but I'm still dangerous. Aren't you happy with her?"

"Well yeah but—"

"Then that's all that matters!" Rinoa cut in. "All I want is for you to be happy and _alive._ That's all I need."

Squall rose from his seat and stood before her. "And what if you're still the only thing that makes me happy? Do you realize how hard it's been for me lately? To know that you were alive this whole time and you come back traipsing into my life like nothing happened? Thinking that maybe these past few years you ran off with some other guy?"

Rinoa lowered her head. "I know," she whispered. "I'm sorry for everything. I wasn't expecting you to wait forever for me." She wiped away the tears that began to brim her lashes.

"Do you still love me?" he growled. "Yes or no." He gripped her biceps, his face hovering over hers.

Rinoa snapped her head up, no longer to hold back the tears. "Do you still love me?" she snapped back.

"Yes," he snarled. "I don't even need to think about it."

"You should," Rinoa breathed. "You really should." Her tears stung the whole way down her cheeks, burning across her flesh. "There is no point in loving me!"

Squall shook her. "Answer my fucking question Rinoa. Do you still love me—Yes or no."

Rinoa sobbed, hanging her head. She bit down on her lip to keep the cries in. She slowly shook her head. "No…" she gasped. She defiantly rose her head to stare into his eyes. "I don't."

Squall released her arms, taking a step back. Slowly he nodded. "That's all I needed to know." His voice cracked like ice, and he took a deep breath before making his way to the door.

Rinoa hugged herself, her body no longer against the heat of his. She heard the click of the lock before she turned to see his back within the door frame. Unable to stop herself she ran to him, slamming the door shut and throwing herself into his arms.

Squall's breath stilled as Rinoa's hands threaded into his hair, tugging him down to crash his lips against hers. Her tears spilled down her cheeks, catching into their mouths as he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her legs around his waist.

Desperately she clutched him to her, her lips tearing at his, sobbing against him. "I do love you," she cried. He screwed his eyes tightly, hearing her say that filled his head with warmth that he hadn't felt in years. It made his dizzy with delight. He nearly lost his footing and slammed her back into the wall. She cried out and wrapped her arms around him tighter. He moved backwards, falling onto the bed with her on top of him, his hands gripping the back of her thighs.

And so they became lost in the whirls of passion, simply from kissing. And there in those moments the found complete bliss, just with each other, just with the touch of their lips.

Complete and utter euphoria.

**xxx**

**A/N: Yes, she's Ultimecia. I know some people don't agree with the theory but Final Fantasy VIII made it WAY too vague for me. And this is what I came up with. Hope you like...or that it's explained enough. I was going to make this a lemon but it would have made it too much like a shitty porno to me, and I deal with too many porn "story" lines at work so eh. Anyways...what'd you think?**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. Glad some people found the idea of Rinoa being Ultimecia interesting. I myself don't really believe the theory TOO much but I think it's a nice idea. She might be she might not be. But it's fanfiction. Some people make Squall gay or Rinoa a stripper or both as drug addicts or both as high school students...so why can't she be the evil sorceress? :)**

Squall awoke the next morning, his muscles sore from a crooked sleeping position. He squinted from the morning sun's light, a haze fogging his vision. A stirring roused within his arms and he looked down to see Rinoa's sleeping face against his naked chest, her arms up with her hands cradling her face. A smile crept onto Squall's lips as he slowly brushed her hair out of her eyes.

At the movement Rinoa woke up, looking up at him and grinning. "Morning," she whispered, her voice raspy from just waking.

"Morning," he responded. They both sat up and stretched, moving their limbs and joints to shake the sleep out of them.

"I am _dying _for a shower," Rinoa groaned, pulling her hair into a ponytail and stepping out of the bed. She reached her arms high overhead, her spine curving as her shirt lifted from the stretch, exposing her taut belly.

Squall sighed as he rested on his side, one hand behind his head to support him. He grinned at the sight of her standing on her tip-toes. He got up to his feet and embraced her, his head leaning down and resting upon her shoulder. Slowly he trailed kisses over the curve of her shoulder, going up the length of her neck. "You said something about a shower?" he growled, his breath rolling across her flesh so hot it gave her goosebumps.

"Um…" she managed to stutter before his mouth slanted over hers, his hand over her chin to tilt her head back and allow her to fall into the kiss. The fingers of his free hand scraped across her stomach, running up to grasp her breast. Her mind spiraled erratically, she _did_ want to shower with but then he would see…

A startling beep interrupted both of them and Rinoa broke away to look at her cell phone. Quickly she scooped it up and her eyes scanned over the text from Selphie. "There's a meeting at noon with Cid," she told Squall. She glanced to the clock on the bedside table. "We got like four hours." Rinoa headed back towards the bathroom and paused at the threshold. Slowly she glanced over to him over her shoulder, a worried look in her eye. "…Quistis," she whispered.

Squall froze, his blood stopping in his veins as his heart skipped several beats.

XXX

Squall unlocked the door to his apartment, slowly stepping in as he closed it behind him. He angrily patted his pocket and grumbled when he couldn't feel his cell phone. He couldn't remember if he brought it to Rinoa's room or if he had left it there. Carefully he made his way to his room, knowing Quistis wouldn't be there. Since there was a meeting in less than four hours, he knew she would be at the Garden.

When he passed his head beneath the stream of the shower he thought about what he would say to her. Nothing came to mind other than a stupid "I'm sorry" and he knew that just was not a good enough excuse. Even though he and Rinoa did not have sex, their actions last night were enough to be classified as being unfaithful.

Over and over his mind searched for words he could possibly say to her. And over and over again his mind only resulted in blanks.

After stepping out of the shower and pulling on his clothes he glanced at the clock. It wasn't even nine yet but he headed towards the Garden.

"Have you seen Trepe?" he asked a student when he pulled into the garage.

"She should be inside Commander," replied the girl. "She might be in Cid's office."

Once outside of Cid's office, Squall could hear Quistis' voice, conversing with what seemed to be a parent whom she was trying to convince into letting her recruit their child. Squall stayed outside, trying to ready himself while she finished up the phone call.

Squall swung open the door slowly, stepping in and seeing Quistis sitting in Cid's desk, facing the side wall as she tapped a pen on the table in a hurried pace.

"So where were you last night?" Quistis asked, her voice low and casual and her eyes stared through the frames of her glasses at the paperwork before her.

Squall took a deep breath. He knew she was going to ask. He knew that she had known exactly where he was. What he still _didn't know_ was how to explain it to her. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want her to feel like she was just a place marker to hold his attention until Rinoa came back. He did care for her. Deeply. But it wasn't love. It never was. For some time he thought he could love her, but he knew he couldn't. She meant so much to him, but it would never amount to how much Rinoa fulfilled the empty hole he once believed was his heart.

"Rinoa had some information for me," he slowly answered. "It'll all be explained at the meeting."

Quistis set down her paperwork and turned her chair to face him, her steely blue eyes boring straight into his. "Really," she said, her voice cold. "Was there anything else?" She crossed her legs slowly, her hands gripped the arms of her swivel chair. The tension between the armrests and her fingernails were enough to bend her nails back and turn her knuckles white.

Squall closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "Quistis…" he started, not even sure how to begin it. "I…"

He was greeted with Quistis' palm slapping hard across his face. When he regained his stance he was looking into her eyes that were filled with pain and anger.

"I know what you did," she spat, slamming his cell phone onto the desk, the screen displaying that his last incoming call was with Rinoa at one forty-eight in the morning. "Fuck you." And with that she stalked past him without another word.

Squall was left breathless. He had never seen Quistis act so full of rage. She was normally calm and full of repose. But he deserved it. He knew he did. "Fuck," he muttered, picking up his phone and dialing Cid. "We need to hold the meeting now," he said when Cid answered. "Tell the others."

"What about Rinoa?" Cid asked.

Squall hesitated for a moment. "Let her arrive at noon as it was originally planned."

XXX

When the others arrived in Cid's office Squall told them everything Rinoa had said to him the night before. He left out the part where he spent the night but with the heated look on Quistis' face it was very apparent to the others.

Selphie's jaw dropped open when Squall wrapped up the story. "Wow…" she whispered. "That's insane. I never would have thought that of her."

"Even though she explained it clearly, there's something I never understood…if she is indeed Ultimecia, then _why_ would she come back and try to kill us all?" Squall asked.

Cid pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Quistis tapped her pencil. "Why didn't you ask her these questions when she was telling you all this?" she muttered.

Squall turned his head towards her, his forehead resting between two fingers.

"Or were your lips too busy?" she snapped.

Squall dropped his hand onto the table, shooting her an icy glare.

But Cid intervened. "Quistis," he said strongly. "We have more important things to talk about. Now, Ultimecia is centuries…maybe even thousands…of years into the future. Whatever research we could gather on her shows that she believed SeeD was the cause of everything that brought her grief. It is possible that her memories got distorted in the years of solitude. She may even have forgotten Squall's face or who he was, and was in an endless search for him. Rinoa only saw a bit of what Ultimecia thought. All Ultimecia had of Squall was Griever."

Quistis crossed her legs. "I think Rinoa should be under supervision," she said calmly. "She herself said she could still be a threat to us."

Before Squall could protest Cid nodded. "Maybe, but I think that falls under a different matter. As of now I don't believe Rinoa is the one causing all this mayhem. But yes, I do think she should be under watch."

"Under watch?" Selphie scoffed, echoing Squall's thoughts. "What like an experiment? Like a criminal?"

Zell crossed his arms over his chest. "If she's not the one causing all this shit then I really don't see any reason for her to be under supervision. Why would she want to harm her own sisters?"

"Why would she kill all of us?" Irvine retorted. "It's not something we ever would have expected but you heard from Squall, she still killed us all in another future. So obviously…" he leaned back and propped his feet onto the table. "She's capable of _anything._"

Quistis nodded. "I agree," she said a little too eagerly.

Zell abruptly stood. "I think that's a load of bullshit!" he exclaimed. "Like you said, she did that in _another_ possible future. But that doesn't make her a crazed killer!"

Squall sighed, burying his forehead in his palms while the others bickered, yelling and cursing at each other. Cid shook his head in shame at his best cadets' arguing and rubbed his temples.

"Shut the fuck up all of you!" Squall shouted suddenly, standing to his feet. "Rinoa is _not_ in any way shape or form going to be under constant watch or confinement like some kind of ravenous animal!"

Quistis laughed bitterly and sneered. "Why'd that piss you off so suddenly?" she snapped. "I thought you'd jump at the thought of her being tied to your hip. _You're_ Commander here, _you_ get to watch over your little pet and keep her away from harming others!"

A small breath caught their attention and everyone whirled around to see Rinoa standing halfway through the door, her eyes wide as their conversations reached her. "And here I thought I was early," she whispered.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: So here's a fairly long one...just to make up for the wait. And thanks for the reviews guys! I love hearing what you guys have to say.**

**XXX**

Quistis scoffed as she turned to look at Rinoa, stalking out the door. Rinoa took a quick glance at Squall before hurrying after the blonde.

"Quistis, stop," she ordered, causing the blonde to clench her fists.

Quistis furiously turned around, already near the end of the corridor. "How dare you," she growled. "Who do you think you are giving _me_ orders? You may be the daughter of a general but I have been training for this military before I even hit puberty. _You_ have no knowledge of how it is to be a leader—you have no right to give orders."

Rinoa sighed and shook her head, still walking to catch up to her. "I know you're upset…which is the understatement of a lifetime…but don't hate him. And I need to tell you something."

Quistis laughed scornfully, her fists balled at her hips. "Just couldn't wait to take him could you," she snapped. "You ripped out his heart, tossed it aside like it meant nothing and then you waltz back here like nothing happened and pretty much try to pick up where you left off?" Beginnings of tears stung the corners of her eyes. "He tried to fucking kill himself because of you!" she shrieked.

Her eyes widened. "What?" she breathed.

Quistis nodded, unable to keep the tears in. "He didn't tell you that did he? I found him in his apartment with I don't even _know_ how many empty bottles of Jim Bean and Jack Daniels bottles. He drank because when he would pass out drunker than all hell he would see your face. He would see your face in his dreams and so he wanted to die."

Rinoa bent her head, cupping her hands over her mouth as she closed her eyes to let the words sink in. "Quistis…I don't have much time…"

"What until you disappear again?" she snapped.

Rinoa hung her head, a single stream on liquid running down her cheek. "No…" Rinoa hooked her finger at the center of her shirt and tugged down until it was beneath the middle of her bra. Exposed were black veins branching out from the middle of her sternum, exploding over her flesh from her heart.

Quistis gasped, stepping back as her jaw dropped down and the little hairs on her arms stood up straight. "Rinoa…" She desperately struggled for what to say next. "You…you mean—?"

"I'm infected," Rinoa answered for her. "Here I am the most powerful sorceress of this time and I myself am not immune to this…whatever the fuck is going on. I wanted to keep everything a secret from Squall, even my reason for leaving. I wanted him to go on with his life, live happily with you. Even though I was jealous that he had found another I was relieved that he had someone who would not cause him any pain."

Rinoa's words completely flew through Quistis' ears, her attention was focused only upon the black veins that stood out against Rinoa's milky flesh. Her mouth ran dry at the sheer shock. "Oh Rinoa…" she whispered. "When?"

"Not long before the fact that sorceresses were dying went public. A week at most." Rinoa tugged her shirt back up to its normal position and ran a hand through her black locks. "It started out small, a black circle right over my heart. But then the next day it was starting to fray, and then kept growing." Unable to keep her balance, she walked backwards until she backed into the wall, sliding down onto her feet. "I'm supposed to be powerful," she laughed bitterly. "When I went to Esthar the first time they praised yet recoiled from me like some powerful all mighty bitch. Odine told me I was a direct descent of Hyne's bloodline, and that I held so much strength and vigor. For the past years I've tried to be tough, I've tried to be awed and feared like sorceresses should be. As the most powerful sorceress of this time, I'm supposed to be the epitome of power. But I'm nothing like that. I'm still the little girl I was when we first met—vulnerable, useless, and scared out of my fucking wits. I'm no goddess like they've made me out to be. I'm still weak and need to be rescued." Rinoa leaned her head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm supposed to be helping you guys…but once again I'm the one who needs the most help."

Quistis crouched down before her, taking her hands into hers and sighing. "We all need to be rescued in our lifetime," she whispered. "You're not weak. You have the burden of this power and you're doing everything you can to use it for good." Quistis took Rinoa's chin between her two fingers and forced the brunette to look at her. "Only someone as strong-willed as you would have left the man you loved in order to save him. So what if in the past you had to be rescued several times? You were not trained to fight like the rest of us. But we never would have made it as far as we did without you. It was you who kept pushing Squall forward. It was your stubbornness and strong will that kept him going. It was _you_ who gave us our friend back. Thinking that you were useless and weak has to be the most foolish thing that's come out of your mouth."

Rinoa cracked a smile. "Leave it to you to be brutally honest."

The blonde shrugged nonchalantly. "It's a gift."

Rinoa laughed and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, then sarcastically laughed. "I've been saying that _a lot_ lately. It's starting to annoy even me."

Quistis chuckled and breathed against her shoulder, wrapping her arms around Rinoa. "Can't say I blame you though," she said. "Though it _does_ hurt…we weren't in love. It was nice while it lasted. Though I must confess, things will definitely be a little odd from now on."

"No kidding."

The two stood to their feet, avoiding eye contact as the awkward sense started to begin. Rinoa nervously toyed with her hair as Quistis scratched at a sudden itch upon her elbow.

"So…" Quistis began. "I take it Squall has no idea seeing how somewhat calm he was today?"

Rinoa shook her head and looked down the hall to the room they'd come out of. "I think he's been through enough. Besides, I want him focused on finding whoever is causing this. Too many lives have been lost already."

"Right," Quistis agreed. She glanced over to the elevator and then back to Rinoa. "Well…I'm going to head back to my quarters," she whispered. "You should get back to the meeting. Let me know if anything important has come up."

"Ok." The two briefly smiled at each other before parting opposite ways.

Cid gently pinched at the bridge of his nose, keeping his eyes closed as the clock continued ticking its eternal path. Their meeting had pretty much hit a snare once the two ladies left, and everyone was just waiting, waiting to see if a bloodbath was approaching.

Squall kept his head down in his crossed arms across the table, hoping at least one of them would come back soon. He could feel stared burrowing into the top of his head from his comrades. Immediately after Rinoa ran out after Quistis, Selphie snapped her head to him and whispered, "Did you fuck Rinoa?" He answered only in shaking his head before lowering it onto the table, in the same position it was currently in.

The rattling turn of the door knob caught everyone's attention and heads lifted up to see Rinoa crossing over the threshold. She smiled weakly and sat beside Cid, across from Squall. She tried her best not to look at him and stared directly into Cid's eyes. "Quistis has retired to her room," she said softly.

"Everything ok?" Selphie asked.

Rinoa turned to her and nodded. "Yeah…we had a talk. Mostly everything is settled but…she wanted to lay down for a bit."

Zell scratched his head. "So then Cid," he started. "What was the original plan of this meeting?"

Cid readjusted his glasses for no apparent reason and glanced at the clock. "Well…I scheduled it for noon and we started early but we didn't get to what I really wanted to address. I had arranged for an important guest to arrive today. He has some very valuable information to share with us. What it entails I can't possibly imagine, but he said it would help us immensely with finding out what is happening to the sorceresses." He leaned over and grabbed his phone. "I'll call him and see if he can come in earlier since noon is still about an hour away." Cid stood to his feet and exited the room while holding the phone to his ear.

Selphie rolled her chair to Rinoa and nearly stuck her face into hers. "Are you alright?" she whispered.

Rinoa turned to her and smiled. "Yeah, I'm ok. Just…in major need for a cigarette right now."

"Oh for crying out loud," Selphie groaned, rolling her eyes. "Stop smoking!"

Rinoa laughed. "Fuck no."

Squall watched Rinoa laugh with Selphie from beneath the fringe of his hair. He kept his head on his folded arms and sighed. He wanted to go back to bed. Maybe have a beer or two.

Zell stretched his arms overhead, yawning noisily as Irvine leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. "I wonder who Cid has coming over today," Irvine mused aloud.

Selphie turned to him and shrugged. "Someone with 'valuable information' apparently. Hope it's something good." She tapped her fingertips atop the table and hummed a song to herself. Minutes ticked by and everyone soon began to slump in their seats.

Cid returned, his face away from them as he laughed, conversing with someone behind him. "Yes, thank you for coming over so quickly." He turned back to his cadets and smiled. "Sorry for the wait, but here is our guest." He turned back behind him. "General, if you please."

The word 'General' pricked at Rinoa's ears and she whirled around fast enough to make her head spin. "Caraway?" she asked, completely incredulous.

General Caraway nodded at her and saluted to the SeeD's. "Morning," he said to them. "Now, the information I have for you I have already told some of it to Rinoa yesterday. I don't know if she's had a chance to pass it on to you but here it is. My military units were guarding the body of Hyne herself."

Jaws dropped and Rinoa chewed her lip.

Caraway nodded and continued. "She is still alive but appears to be in a comatose state that has lasted thousands of years. I'm not going to bore you with all the details. Now, here's what I didn't tell Rinoa: I am officially putting Hyne under the care of SeeD."

Cid jerked his head towards Caraway, his eyes nearly bulging from their sockets in shock. Squall straightened his spine and frowned in confusion. Everyone else's jaws just dropped.

"General Caraway," Cid stammered. "I…I uh…this is unexpected."

Caraway nodded. "I will fully fund everything you might need. I have Odine on his way here to inspect her. And with the sorceress of this time in this vicinity, perhaps that will get a start on something." He glanced quickly to Rinoa. "The reason I'm taking Hyne out of my military's supervision is because amongst my troops was a traitor. We recently discovered that about a week ago this traitor had disabled our security long enough to aid in someone tampering with Hyne's body."

Cid raised a brow in curiosity. "Really now," he whispered, amazed.

Caraway angrily shook his head. "It angers me to no end that it took us more than a few days time to detect this," he growled. "But…someone has stolen Hyne's heart."

"What?" Rinoa exclaimed. "Then…how is she still alive?"

Caraway looked over to her. "Hyne is an immortal," he explained. "And her heart is nothing like ours. Her heart is…" he searched for the words. "…somewhat like a crystal I suppose you could say. The mechanics of her body have always been a mystery, but even though her heart is not currently _inside_ her, she is still very much alive. What we believe is that her heart and body are still connected despite it not being within her. Now, what seems to my research team and I is that whoever the traitor stole that heart for is doing something to the heart and so it is affecting nearly every sorceress out there."

"Does Hyne seem…any _different_ lately?" Zell asked.

Caraway shook his head. "No," he said. "She looks exactly the same save for a scar on her sternum. We've been studying her brain waves and there appears to be a bit more activity than usual but nothing showing that she'd wake up. We honestly don't know if she can last without her heart."

"Confusing," Selphie moaned, rubbing her temple.

Caraway sighed. "Such is the way of the immortals."

Rinoa tapped her fingernails on the tabletop. _Fuck…_she thought. She turned her head to look at Squall and raised her brow.

Squall was sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes glaring downwards as his lips were in a scowl as he thought. "So…" he said finally. "Find Hyne's heart and we find who's doing this." He glanced up, his eyes locking with Rinoa's and he sardonically laughed. "Well that fucking sounds easy enough," he snarled.

**A/N: Yep...I've poisoned our loveable Rinoa. When I first got the idea for the story I didn't want to but it's needed for the story to continue so there. **

**PS: Y****ou'll never know who the traitor is. It's no one important. We'll just say that Fury's military killed him or her. We're getting closer!! Not to the end of course...but to the identity of who causing all this mayhem! Thanks for sticking around thus far and I'll see you--well not literally--next round. XOXO**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Why hello!! Here's the next one!**

Rinoa was in the library after the meeting. After Caraway had announced that Hyne would now be under SeeD's supervision, and that her heart had been stolen, it had caused an uproar between the SeeD's and Caraway's military. Squall argued that just because Caraway's military couldn't handle the responsibilities did not mean that SeeD should now shoulder the work. Thus resulting in an angry battle of curt and terse words between the two men and the room soon filled with heat from frustration and all but cleared the room.

She herself didn't care to be involved and was the first to leave, heading straight to the library, the one place in Garden from her past she found peace in. There were hardly any students in at the time, but it was nearing lunch hour so she assumed the cafeteria was decided a much better place for students to hang out. Thankful, she ran her fingers over the spines of the books that covered every row before her.

"Looking for something in particular?" a cold voice asked her from behind.

Rinoa faltered a bit before turning around to face the stern looking woman. "No, just browsing to see what I can find," she said steadily.

Behind the woman were two students, their eyes set upon her disapprovingly. The librarian lifted her head, looking down at Rinoa. "Browsing for a non-Garden student is limited to thirty minutes, you have fifteen left," was all she said to her before turning on her heels.

Rinoa couldn't miss the haughty looks she received from the students before they too spun around, giving her their back. She tried her hardest not to let it bother her in the least and resumed looking through the many titles that stared up at her from the spines of the books. _So…this is why my parents found it best to keep my nature secret,_ she thought. Absentmindedly she plucked a random book from the shelf and flipped through the pages.

_You wouldn't turn from me,_ she thought to the book. _You don't give a damn who or what reads you. You offer knowledge and entertainment to any who wish to receive it._ She skimmed through the pages, her eyes briefly scanning over paragraphs of the human anatomy.

She heard footsteps approach and she looked out the corner of her eye to see the same librarian with her hands balled at her hips.

"I counted," said Rinoa lowly. "I have six minutes left of my so called 'browsing' time."

The librarian huffed and straightened her spine. "We don't accept _your_ kind here," she snapped, the two students filling in behind her quickly. "Please leave."

Rinoa sighed and placed the book back neatly. "Fine." She took a few steps to get around the librarian and the two kids.

"I meant, leave this Garden," added the woman.

Rinoa paused and looked directly into her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"You're a sorceress. This is a hall for students raised to destroy sorceresses. Do the math," she spat. The students behind her assumed the position for a fight.

Rinoa laughed. "You gotta be fucking kidding me," she muttered, rubbing her temple. "I have written permission and request from your headmaster for my arrival and stay. If you so wish to see the contracts then speak with him, and if you have any problems then take it up with him not me."

The students behind the librarian cringed at the strength behind her lithe voice, but one wanted to be brave and threw his bottle of water onto her, drenching her front with ice cold liquid. "Witch!" he shouted. "You're kind has brought nothing but pain to our race, you deserve to die and it's our right to give you death!"

Rinoa gasped in shock as the liquid spilled down her body, drenching her from her breasts to the front of her pants. Anger writhed within her but she willed it to stay down. _I'm stronger than that,_ she whispered silently to herself. _They're just children…__**annoying, rude, idiotic children who need to be taught a lesson!**__ No!! No…__**That's why they die so quickly, their arrogance and lack of integrity shorten their life spans to nothing…**__They know nothing better…_ Rinoa grasped her head as she tried to keep her anger from taking over. Soon her arguments with herself were silenced.

The librarian scoffed. "Some sorceress you are, can't even handle a bit of water?" She turned around and grabbed the other student's water bottle and held it in the air to pour on her.

A thick hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"What the fuck is going on?" the newcomer demanded.

Rinoa glanced up and saw Squall with his eyes glaring daggers at the librarian and the two kids. "Have you ignored that she is Garden's _guest_ by demand of Headmaster Cid?" The veins in his hand bulged with each passing second, his knuckles white with the ferocity of his grip.

"Commander!" exclaimed the two students, wide-eyed as they watched him keep his hold on the librarian.

Squall turned to them and his eyes only gained more menace. "As for you two…"

The student who had not thrown the water took a meek step forward. "Forgive my abrasiveness Commander but…she _is_ a sorceress."

"And?" Squall responded, his features not moving a breath. "Your point would be?"

"Is it not the duty of us, SeeD's and SeeD candidates to kill sorceresses? That's what we've been training for every day for our entire lives! And now we have to push aside everything we've lived for because of one sorceress?"

Squall released the librarian, turning to face the student. "Yes. It is something you have been training for ever since you were a child. But you have also been trained to follow each and every order of your Headmaster and Commander even if you do not agree with it. Cid makes these decisions and I make sure it is carried out. Now, if Cid believes it is in the Garden's best interest to take aid from the sorceress then you _will_ do as he asks. If not, you have abandoned your training and obviously cannot take direct orders and thus will not be eligible to become a SeeD. Then your days here have been wasted and there is no need for you to continue existing here."

The students stared up at Squall with fear and apprehension blazing in their eyes.

"Before you think about giving her this type of behavior remember two things: One, this isn't easy for her either being surrounded by people who have sworn to kill her; and Two, you'll have to answer to me for I will mete out your discipline." Squall cocked his head at the two. "Do I make myself clear?" he growled. The two students merely stood still, frozen solid in complete horror. "I said…_do I make myself clear!!_"

The two jumped and hastily nodded their heads. "Y-Yes Commander!"

Squall nodded and waved his hand. "Go speak with the Headmaster to receive your punishment. You know he won't punish you as severely as I would have. Go!"

When the students practically ran out the library, nearly knocking down a shelf in the process, Squall turned to face the librarian with his eyes colder than ice. "As for you…I'll deal with you later myself."

The librarian began to babble some sort of apology but Squall walked briskly past her, placed a hand on Rinoa's back and led her out of the library.

"You alright?" he asked, his voice still rough with fury as they walked down the rounded halls of Garden.

"Never better," she responded, picking the material with her two fingers to keep the drenched fabric from her flesh. She smelled something familiar and brought the hem of her shirt to her nose, exposing her flat belly. A strong scent that nearly burnt her nose wafted from the material. "Oh for crying out loud…" she muttered.

"What?"

Rinoa laughed bitterly and pointed at her shirt. "That wasn't water. That's vodka. And with the smell I'm assuming hundred proof or more."

Squall sighed in exasperation and ran his hand over his hair. "Great. I'll talk to Cid about it later. Those kids are fucked."

Squall took Rinoa to her hotel room to change. When they arrived the discovered that housekeeping was still cleaning up the place.

"Oh I'm so sorry miss," said the maid. "We've only just started, but we'll be done in about a half hour to forty five minutes."

Rinoa smiled and waved her hand in dismissal. "It's alright. I'll um…" She looked over to Squall. "You think I can just grab some clothes and change at your place?"

Squall shrugged from his leaning post of the threshold. "Sure."

When they arrived at Squall's apartment Rinoa's eyes widened. She realized this was her first time here in five years. Her jaw nearly dropped when she saw everything was so bare. When they moved in together she put herself in charge of decorating the place, purchasing furniture, curtains, rugs, etc.

The blood red curtains she got for the sliding glass door remained, matching the black leather couch and red pillows, but the walls were empty, no longer filled with the picture frames or paintings. The candles she had set along the countertops of the kitchen were gone, replaced with empty beer cans and glass bottles.

Rinoa set her folded clothes onto the kitchen table, her eyes still scanning across the perimeter.

"It's changed a lot hasn't it," Squall said from the doorway. He turned to close the door in place and walked up to her.

"I didn't realize I bought that much shit," she said, still looking around to see what else was missing. "You must have had a field day throwing it all out. How many bags did it fill?"

Squall shook his head and motioned for her to follow to the hallway. From the linen closet at the end of the hallway he pointed to a box on the top shelf. "I was able to fit it all into one box," he said with a proud grin.

Rinoa laughed and reached up to grab it, missing it by a few inches.

Squall sighed and took it down for her.

"I don't even remember all the things I left…" she whispered. "It was so long ago." Amazed, she dug through the dusty box, her fingers moving things around. "_Everything's_ in here?"

"I think you took most of it all. You mainly left some pictures and figurines." While she was busied with digging through the box, Squall stood to his feet and went into his room, heading to a specific drawer to open up.

Rinoa lifted her head and followed him. She stepped into the threshold slowly, her eyes darting around and noticing that the room was as simple as it was when she'd left. The deal was that she could decorate the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, but he received dibs on the bedroom décor. "Still such a simple room," she laughed, awestruck by the sheer minimalism of it.

Squall turned his head towards her over his shoulder. "You know that's how I like it."

Rinoa chuckled as she made her way to him, leaning her forehead into the center of his back as her hands traveled onto his shoulder blades. "Well, I'm going to take a quick shower and change, I'll be right out." She turned and got her things from the kitchen table, holding them in her hands when Squall came behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"After this is all over," he started, his lips against the sensitive skin beneath her right ear. "Where will you go?"

Rinoa turned her head slightly, her lips now brushing across the scar tissue between his eyes. "I hadn't really thought that far to tell the truth."

Squall lifted his face, capturing her mouth with his own. His tongue ran over her bottom lip. She twisted her body in his arms, moving to align herself with him. Tongues danced as lips melted with each other. His fist snaked into her hair, tugging at her scalp to expose her neck. While his lips caressed the flesh of her throat, his other hand remained at her hips that were rotating against his pelvis.

Squall removed himself from her swiftly, swiping his arm across the surface of the table and sending her belongings to the floor. With the same speed he had Rinoa laying atop the table, his body over hers as his lips ravaged hers once more. Her hands sank into his hair, her mouth filled with the taste of _him._ It was a taste she couldn't ever tire of, a taste she wondered how she'd survived without for five years. Her legs curled up, wrapping around his waist as he pressed deeper against her, the vodka from her shirt seeping into his and smearing onto his skin.

With one hand Rinoa felt him remove her hand and lay it flat onto the table, his hand rolling something into her palm. Rinoa paused in her frantic kisses to look over. Breathless, she looked at his hand over hers. "What'd you put in there?" she gasped.

"A fucking present," came his answer, muffled as he hungrily gnawed on her neck.

Rinoa giggled and squirmed beneath him, urging him to get off of her. Sighing, he obliged and sat in one of the chairs before her to allow her to sit up. She straightened her spine and opened her legs, placing her toes onto the tops of Squall's knees. Slowly she opened her palm and her eyes lit up in shock at the sight of the metal band resting in her palm.

Immediately she lifted her head. "Squall—?"

"I had Zell make it for me after the battle with Ultimecia, I just never had the right time in mind to give it to you."

Rinoa looked back down to the ring, placing it onto her finger. The circlet felt so cool and heavy against her heated skin. Raised and engraved along the band was Griever, his wings a magnificent aquamarine set into the metal. Nervously she chewed her bottom lip, closing her eyes as she tried to keep her calm. "Thank you," she whispered.

He cupped her chin in his hand, his lips slanting across hers. "I want you to move back in with me," he whispered over her lips. "Tonight."

Rinoa smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. "Yes," she murmured, nodding her head slowly.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Sorry for the super late update! So we've jumped ahead—I think it should be around 2 weeks—and it is now Squall's birthday! Crazy enough, me & Squally boy share the same birthday…I spent mine in Vegas with my lover and lots, and lots, and LOTS of alcohol and gambling. I won $40 and only lost maybe like $15!**

**Anyways…Quistis is still a little iffy which of course is to be expected but she's continuing in being calm and collected as which is what she's best at. Edea—Nooo I haven't forgotten her completely!—is still comatose, her signs not getting worse nor getting better. Hyne has now been successfully set up at Garden, and SeeD is investigating who the traitor of Caraway's military was working for. But today…they are celebrating!**

**And please forgive me if the ending is a bit off, it's after 3 am for me and I wanted to hurry up and get this posted before I went to bed. I might go back another day and redo it...keyword=MIGHT. Enjoy lovies! **

**xXx**

"Do I really have to do this?" Squall growled, reluctantly setting his tie straight. "I fucking hate these black tie affairs." He glanced over to Rinoa who was finishing applying her makeup. Another growl rumbled through his throat at the sound of her laughing at his torture.

"It wasn't _my_ idea," she said, batting her eyes as she waited for her eyeliner to set. "Irvine and Selphie deserve all the lovely and violent thanks I know you'll give them." She smiled and turned to him, her legs crossed, exposed through the high slit of her long skirt. "I personally would have been just fine with a bar, but they insisted on taking the Commander to a swanky ritzy five star restaurant."

Squall scoffed as he adjusted his belt. "I'm not wearing a jacket," he stated, his eyes heated as he all but spit on the black fabric thrown across the neatly made bed. "It's too fucking hot."

Rinoa rose from her seat and neatly pinched the pointed bottom of his tie. "If you don't want to wear the jacket you don't have to wear the damn jacket." She gave him a glittering smile before softly kissing his lips. "Enough about you, how do _I_ look?" she pouted, pulling away from him to do a mock model-like spin.

As any guy would, Squall took his time in drinking in the sight of her in the long black skirt with the high slit, the pale blue under-bust corset narrowing her waist and pushing up her breasts that were concealed in white lace. All he could do was stare, his mouth slightly parted as he wished he could do something other than go to the damn banquet. "If you're going to wear that I'd very much rather stay home."

"You don't like it?" she whimpered, her dark eyes wide as she forced her bottom lip to tremble.

"I do, but I'd rather celebrate tossing it on the floor than watching you wear it at this restaurant."

Rinoa grinned, turning her head to hide the look of apprehension that crossed over her features. She still withheld sex from him, and he didn't press, though she and he both knew the tension between them was doing nothing but building up more and more, at first begging but now demanding to be released. But along with the tension, the inky branches on Rinoa's chest also grew. The mark was spreading slowly, almost like a starbust inside a gem, trailing down the center of her stomach. "Maybe later," she said, trying to make her voice sound joyful and teasing, but didn't do too well a job.

Squall mentally smacked himself. He didn't want to push her, but his body still fought his mind. He cleared his throat, angered at himself for even _thinking_ about it. It was obvious she wasn't ready to start that level of the relationship again, so who was he to try and convince her? He felt like such an asshole. He thought of Quistis, and the awkward and pathetic approach of an apology he attempted to give her. She had simply looked at him and softly smiled, set a firm hand on his for a moment, and walked away. With two fingers he straightened his tie. "We should be going."

Rinoa turned from the mirror. "Yes…of course."

They arrived at the restaurant with a screeching halt, Rinoa slamming her heels onto the dashboard to keep herself from flying head first into painful oblivion. "Honey, the food wasn't going anywhere," she said as she gathered herself and pushed open the door.

Squall exited and tossed his keys to the scared valet. "The sooner we get this over with the better."

When they entered the grand restaurant Rinoa smugly elbowed Squall in the ribs when she saw a hint of a smile forming on his lips. In the center of the restaurant was a large table, spilling over with their friends from Garden. Dispersed in the large room were people Rinoa didn't even recognize, but all seemed to have connections with the Commander or the Garden itself or Cid or even…the aging man with his salt and peppered hair pulled into a low ponytail.

Squall's smile instantly fell, dropping into a snarl, and Rinoa gripped his hand. "You ok?"

Instead of answering her he kept hold of her hand and immediately made a beeline for the main table, politely nodding at those who wished him well. When he got to the table he stared right into Selphie's eyes, which were now wide with fear. "What's he doing here?" he growled beneath his breath.

Selphie nervously giggled, the color fading from her face. "Uh…surprise?" she squeaked.

Irvine came beside her, right on cue, and placed a hand on Squall's shoulder, shaking it jokingly. "Happy birthday Commander!" he laughed. Then, seriously, he leaned in close to Squall's ear. "Come on man, he's your dad."

Rinoa glanced over at Squall and gently squeezed his hand. _Still don't talk to him do you,_ she thought to herself.

"The sorceress!" a cheerful voice squealed.

Both Rinoa and Squall grimaced. Then voice in question came up to them, placing his arm around their shoulders while wedging himself between the two. "Don't you both look stunning!" Laguna laughed loudly and detached his arms. "Rinoa, my dear it's so good to see you again. You look so very much like your mother…" His eyes lowered as memories invaded, and with a sigh he all but waltzed to talk with Cid.

Squall's eye twitched as he desperately controlled his sudden desire to scream at the top of his lungs in frustration. Even before it was revealed that Laguna was his biological father he couldn't stand him. And now that it was publicly known, Laguna tried to show the press that he was going to be the best damned father there was ever to be—at the time seventeen years too late. And for the past five years Squall rejected his fatherly advances, forcing Laguna to spend his free time with the frightful mistress named alcohol.

"Is he…" Rinoa began, her lips curling in confusion as she rose a sharp nail to point at the Estharian president.

"Drunk," Selphie finished for her. "He usually is. But normally he does it _away_ from the cameras. I guess since this is a social event, he doesn't care." Almost sheepishly she looked over at Squall, hoping a way of apology would escape through her lips. But, again, a whimpering squeak was all that came out.

"Speaking of drunk," Squall muttered, making his way towards the bar.

Rinoa sighed and gave a faltering smile to the tiny brunette before her. "A birthday to remember," she joked.

"When you…um, left…Laguna made it even more a point to make up lost time with Squall. He tried to use the 'girl that got away' similarity to get them closer. Of course, you can tell, it didn't exactly go according to plan." Selphie grabbed a flute from the tray the server offered and downed the contents. "So then Laguna became this huge drinker and when Squall entered AA he joined with him, hoping it was another similarity to bring them together."

Rinoa smiled at the server when she took a glass. She stared down at the bubbling contents and let out a whistle. "Damn," she whispered. "I take it Squall's still angry with him?"

Irvine wrapped his arm around Selphie's shoulders. "You know Squall, the platinum record breaker of grudge-holding." Almost possessively he tugged Selphie away. "Let's dance."

Before Selphie could protest or even excuse herself, Irvine had already pulled her onto the dance floor, keeping his arms around her as she faced him. She glared up at him and wanted to kick his shin. "What was that about it?"

"What was what about?" he muttered almost innocently.

"Taking me away from Rinoa without letting me excuse myself, what's your problem?"

Irvine shrugged and tightened his grip when Selphie jerked as if to get away. "Something not right about her still," he whispered. "I just don't think she's telling us everything."

Selphie scoffed. "Meaning?"

"I just don't trust her is all babe. I really don't. She broke Squall's heart, then she is actually the beginning stages of Ultimecia, and then steals Squall from Quistis. There's not really much about her I can trust."

Selphie finally managed to break free of his grasp. With her fists balled at the sides she stamped her foot. "Obviously Squall's not the only one who's amazing at holding grudges. At least _he_ got over it and it was _his_ heart that got broken!"

Rinoa turned away from Selphie and Irvine's argument. She glanced over to the bar where Squall had stormed, but he was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, she excused herself from no one in particular, skillfully removing a full flute of champagne and hurrying to the glass doors ahead of her. Making it out of the restaurant, she closed the door and leaned against the stone balcony. A quick whiff of smoke reached her and she turned to see two of Squall's students sneaking a smoke break, nearly shitting themselves when they stared right into the eyes of the sorceress. One nearly dropped his cigarette from his shaking fingers. Rinoa smiled, shaking her head softly. "Can I bum one?" she simply asked.

The student nodded on reflex. "Commander doesn't want us smoking…" he whispered. "Since we're…underage and all."

The other student elbowed him, glaring at him with a look that flared 'Shut up!'

"What if she can read minds and tell if we're not of age!" the first student hissed back.

Before Rinoa could stop herself she laughed, whole heartedly. "I promise I won't tell the Commander a thing," she grinned.

The students sheepishly smiled and handed her a cigarette and lighter. When she said her thanks they both blushed. "You…" the second student started. "You are really pretty."

Rinoa tilted her head and smiled at him as she lit up. "Why thank you."

"The Commander had a photograph of you in his office," the other said. "He put it in his bookshelf, face down. The day my parents brought me here—two years ago, Miss—I saw it. I wanted to ask who you were but he looked like he would have killed me."

"That he would have," said Squall when he came from the doors, a glass in his hand filled with amber liquid.

"Commander!" the students cried, mentally wondering what to do with the cigarette pack.

Rinoa lifted a finger, instantly bringing the pack into her palm and she stealthily hid it behind her back. "Well hello sweetheart," she smiled. "Enjoying your party?"

Squall grunted and nodded at the students. "Yes I'm enjoying it so much I'm going to share the wealth. You two, go enjoy it for me for a bit." He jerked his head towards the glass doors. The two nodded, too scared to give a salute and ran, glancing back very quickly to smile thanks to Rinoa.

She gently held out her fingers for him to take. "What'd you get?" she asked. "Did you save me any?"

"You have a perfectly good think of champagne right there."

Rinoa didn't even look at the flute she had placed on the edge of the balcony. "I don't know what you're talking about." She laughed and sucked on her cigarette quickly. "So…your father," she started.

Squall rolled his eyes and groaned. "What about him?" he snarled.

"Still hate him?"

Squall shrugged. "I went seventeen years without him in my life and I did just fine. When I saw him in the Dream World I thought he was annoying, and when we met him in Esthar I thought he was just weird. It's just now he makes it seem as if I was tortured, so pitiful as a child because I grew up without him. Now he wants to take care of the poor baby bird."

Rinoa handed him her cigarette, her eyes watching as he inhaled deeply, then exhaling the fire out of throat.

"He didn't do a damn thing all those years," he muttered. "The whole time he knew, he _knew_, exactly where I was—who I was—and he did nothing. Then all of a sudden he gives a fuck."

"Well, you just have to deal with him tonight. Starting tomorrow you can go on ignoring him again. But for tonight…" She trailed off when she noticed his icy glare drilling into her. "Or you can ignore him tonight for all I care."

Squall flicked the cigarette onto the ground and crushed it with his foot. Gallantly he held out his arm for her. "I'm hungry."

Rinoa sighed and dragged him back into the restaurant, where they both were pulled to the main table to be served their food. Hours went by, blurred by alcohol and boring conversation. Rinoa and Squall sat there, nodding when appropriate but wanting nothing more than to go back to the apartment and pass out. Rinoa clutched Squall's hand beneath the table, resting on his knee as they half-listened to Irvine tell what he thought was a joke.

Luckily, Selphie stood and clapped her hands merrily. "Time for cake!" she squealed. On cue the waiters burst through the doors, a long and flat sheet cake displayed prominently upon the rolling cart. Everyone at the table stood, many gasping and applauding at the magnificence of the dessert.

Squall couldn't keep in the smile when he saw that his symbol of Griever was in the center, painted to look as if it were metal, stuck right in the cake. Rinoa giggled and nudged his shoulder affectionately.

Quistis and Zell glanced at each other quickly and signaled to the waiters to start singing the song they knew Squall would rather not hear, the birthday song. As the waiters sang everyone joined in, the maitre de escorting the Commander out of his seat to stand before the grand cake.

When the song finished Squall immediately tried to blow out the many candles that were bordering the lion's face. He missed several, and Selphie along with another waiter helped him out by blowing the rest out. Everyone cheered and clapped their hands, the restaurant filled with roars of applause.

Rinoa laughed and clapped her hands as well, starting to stand from her seat. But then a sharp pain flickered in her chest and she paused, the pain dulling away. Thinking it was nothing important, she shook it off but remained in her chair. The applause thundered around her, echoing in her head, swarming around her. In her mind she saw brief flashes of someone else's view. Rinoa placed her hands over her chest and tried to breathe slowly to calm her thumping heart. The flashing visions made her dizzy, and her body swayed, her head feeling too heavy to support. The cheering continued. She started to see clearly in the visions; it was of someone who was walking, their body leaning from side to side and their legs twitching as if they were drunk. They were shuffling along on a sidewalk, heading towards…

Rinoa's eyelids shook, nearly fluttering to try to stay open. The clapping, the damn clapping, it wouldn't _stop_. Another sharp pain rocked within her, as if it were something with sharp teeth and talons and wanting nothing more than to claw its way out of her. It was in her throat now, clogging it, forcing her to choke, suffocating her. She gasped, unintentionally slamming her palm onto the table, causing the glasses to shake. She unevenly stood to her feet, her spine hunched as she moved behind the crowd.

Squall glanced up from cutting the cake.

The visions blinded her and she saw what this person was heading to. She saw their clawed hand as they shakily reached for the door handle. No one else heard anything except their own applause and merriment. Everything Rinoa saw before her moved so slowly, racing past her at the same time.

The door to the restaurant burst open and someone screamed. Silence roared in the room as they stared at the woman with long, straggly, black hair hanging over her face stood in the center of the doorway.

Every nerve on Rinoa's body stood on end and shrieked with pain. Her heart felt as if it would explode at any moment. The pain that emanated from the woman standing at the doorway flew into Rinoa's heart and soul. She wanted to dig it out. Her claws rested upon her breasts, ready to tear through flesh and lace.

Cid's jaw dropped down at the sight of the woman in the doorway. The torn hospital gown was splotched with blood, her arms dotted with ragged holes where the IV needles were ripped from. From beneath the knotted black hair she glanced through, her eyes staring straight towards the crowd, zeroing on the sorceress that shared her pain.

"Edea!" Cid cried out. "What are you doing here?" He slowly walked up to her, his hands out to show he meant no harm. Some of the dying sorceresses became severely aggressive, she on the other hand simply became comatose but he had no idea what she was capable of at the moment.

Suddenly she collapsed to the floor and Rinoa screamed. While Cid rushed to his wife, other eyes turned towards the sorceress who was tearing at her skin. Squall shoved everyone aside, trying to get to her.

Rinoa shrieked, her claws slicing through the lace at the center of her top. Her breath came hastily, her chest heaving erratically. Then as quickly as the pain had started, it ceased. With a choked breath she jerked, her eyes rolling into the back of her and she fell to the ground.

Squall scrambled for her and cradled her to his chest, checking her vitals. When he felt a heartbeat he sighed in relief but was afraid for what was happening with Cid and Edea. His eyes turned to glance to the other side but something prevented him. He saw a hint of a black vein poking from beneath the slashed lace. Quistis sucked in a breath when she watched him peel back part of Rinoa's corset. Squall's eyes widened as they centered on the veins, exploding from her heart in thin branches. _She's infected…_he thought forlornly. Raising his eyes towards her face he gently cupped her chin, holding her tight against him, praying that no one saw the tears that wanted to fall.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hey guys! First off I'd like to give huge thank you's to the reviewers of last chapter. It definitely was a hard one to write, hurting Squall so much and all—and on his BIRTHDAY!! I'm such a bitch!**

**CB Shipper—I hope you don't hate me! But I have to say I am proud for being able to bring out such strong emotions from you!**

**-92icecold—Thank you so much for that really nice review. It really meant a lot to me thank you and glad you like my story plot. And if it was humanly possible I would love for this to be like a screenplay for something like FFVII Advent Children. But alas…**

**Lionheart1—Sorry I made you look away from the screen! But that means I'm doing my job! *insert evil laugh***

**Second, huge apologies for this being super late and short, I'm going back to school and paperwork has smooshed my writing muse. Anyways…on with the story lovies!!**

**xxx**

All around her she felt warmth, soothing and silky warmth that encased her like a robe. Rolling over her skin were soft feathers, dancing as if blown by a gentle breeze. One single feather rested in her locks, thin white tangled beneath inky black. As she tried to separate it from her hair, she heard soft crackling, like the sounds ice cubes make when liquid is poured over them. She ignored the feather and felt herself being pulled towards the sound.

When she approached it her eyes scanned over in awe at the icy wall before her. Slowly she reached for it, almost in a trance by this ice barrier. But before she could trail a finger over the hairline crack in the ice, she could see another person behind the ice.

On the other side of the ice barrier stood a woman with shining black hair and frail skinny fingers reaching towards the ice. Their movements nearly mirrored each other's, lips moving in confusion almost identically. Together they placed their palms onto the ice, eyes locked as words flew from mouth to mouth.

"Who is doing this?" one whispered. "Who is hurting your children?"

"My children," the other murmured, as if to herself. "Your children, your sisters, yourself." Slowly she curled her fingers, claws screeching over the surface. "It is someone from your past," she told her. "A brief encounter, an argument. Sometimes things that were thought to be so trivial have the most drastic effect."

Both frowned, palms pushing harder against the ice, ignoring the cracks and pops from the barrier.

"Break through," one said.

"Release it?" said the other.

"Wake up," they said together.

**XXX**

Squall kept his head down, buried beneath his folded arms. Gentle fingers glided over his hair, softly stroking. He raised his head to find Quistis handing him a cup of water. Quietly he thanked her, taking the glass from her fingers and sipping slowly.

"You need to rest," Quistis whispered.

Squall shook his head as he lowered the glass back into her hands. "No, I want to be here when she wakes up. I don't want her to think she's alone."

Slowly the woman beside him nodded. Affectionately she placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a smile for encouragement. "She'll wake up," she said. "And she'll be the same she was before. Her being infected hasn't stopped her yet."

He tilted his head up, his eyes catching hers for a sharp moment. "You knew." It wasn't a question, nor was it an accusation, but his voice lashed at hers with a fury she hadn't heard in years.

Quistis swallowed, drawing back her hand as she sadly nodded. "Before you get angry, would you rather have heard it from me or her?" He didn't answer, and instead lowered his head back into the fortress of his folded arms.

Without another word Quistis turned and left, gently closing the door behind her. Down the corridor she saw Kadowaki and briskly walked to catch up to her, almost rhythmically tapping her fingernails along the empty glass cup. "How is it going with the traitor in Caraway's military?" she asked when she reached the doctor.

Kadowaki sighed, her voice grumbling in frustration. "He refuses to talk. Apparently whoever he's working for frightens him more than Caraway does. There has to be something that would get him to talk."

Quistis grinned and paused in her tracks, her hand out to halt the doctor. "I've got an idea. But we need Rinoa awake to do it. Come with me," she whispered, tugging Kadowaki down the hall.

**XXX**

Rinoa opened her eyes slowly, briefly wincing away from the fluorescent light of the infirmary. With a muffled groan she sat up, her body stiffening at the sound of a gun cocking before her. Calmly she turned her head to see Irvine aiming a shotgun at her, his finger steady at the trigger.

"Forgive me," he told her. "Just taking precautions since the last time you woke up from a coma you were a tad hostile."

"Not now cowboy," she muttered. "I feel as if I've got a hangover."

Irvine smirked and released his finger from the trigger. "Glad to see it's you."

Rinoa sighed and moved her eyes towards the window. "How long have I been out?"

"Few days."

Without moving her eyes she asked, "Edea?" When Irvine didn't answer she slowly lowered her head, peeling down the collar of the hospital gown. At the sight of the branches nearly at her collarbone she shut her eyes tightly. "Where's Squall?"

"He's home." With a deep breath he set the shotgun against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "How are you feeling? Besides the whole 'hangover' bit?"

Rinoa swiped the covers from her body and swung her legs over the edge. "I need to get home to Squall."

"In a minute. Kadowaki wanted to see you before you leave."

"Not now," she nearly growled. "I need to get home to Squall."

Irvine stood to his feet and placed a hand on the doorknob. "Trust me, he's passed the fuck out. We had to drug him to get him away from the hospital."

Before Rinoa could glare at the cowboy to see if he was serious, he had already left, firmly shutting the door behind him.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry the last chapter was pretty lame, hopefully this one makes up for it! XOXO**

**And sorry for advance if the spelling or grammar sucks, I'm at my boyfriend's house and the idea came to me while he's at work so I wrote this one very quickly!  
**

Rinoa stared through the thick glass plane, her eyes centering focus on the man that sat in the dead center of the room. He slightly rocked back and forth in his seat, his hands chained and forced to hang beneath him. Almost nonchalantly he pressed his lips together, opening his mouth to make a 'pop' sound and leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"For fuck's sake!" Irvine muttered. "He's _bored!_"

Rinoa couldn't believe the man in the room, completely unaware of the four that stood behind the glass and watched him. He wasn't afraid. He didn't look the least bit unnerved. "He simply doesn't give a shit," she whispered. Inside she felt her blood heat and she instinctively clenched her fists. "He won't talk at all will he?"

Kadowaki shook her head. "The only thing we've got out of him was a confirmation of his name. And that information was given by the military that were here yesterday morning. He won't speak about anything except maybe a 'hello' or a 'yep.'"

Quistis turned to Rinoa. "That's why we wanted you to talk to him. Whoever's making him do this has him scared, but we believe that if the sorceress was standing before him, it might shake him up a bit."

"You want me to beat it out of him?"

"Just intimidate him," Quistis grinned. "You don't need to mutilate him--though I'm sure you and everyone else would love to."

Irvine placed a folder and a small contraption in Rinoa's hand. "A transmitter. The glass is sound proof and a two way mirror. We'll be listening in and talking to you at the same time."

Rinoa clicked her tongue at the sight of the transmitter but hooked it into her ear anyway. "Alright." Slowly she flipped through the papers in the folder. "Saul Vende," she muttered as she read over the name. For a moment she blinked as it registered through her mind.

"Yeah. You know him?"

She shrugged, putting it back neatly and placed her hand on the doorknob. "Sounds familiar," she told them and looked over her shoulder. "Lock me in with him."

When she entered the small white room and the door clicked loudly behind her, the man hardly even flinched or looked away from the ceiling. Rinoa tossed the folder onto the desk in front of him and arched a brow as he continued staring up. "I hope that ceiling is extremely interesting," she said.

He didn't look down, but his throat jerked slightly. "Are you another official here to question me?" he said, almost smugly. "Because I have nothing to say to officers, military, SeeD, or doctors."

Rinoa slowly rounded the table and gripped his chind between two fingers, firmly bringing his head away from the ceiling. "I'm non of the above Mr. Vende." She received slight satisfaction when his eyes widened a fraction. "But yes, I am here to get answers and hopefully if you know what's good for you you'll give me them."

Before he could utter a word a slight static-like hiss went off in her ear. _"Rinoa, you don't need to threaten him,"_ came Quistis' voice over the transmitter.

Roughly, Rinoa let go of his chin. "So, you have helped someone by cutting out Hyne's heart. Can I be enlightened in knowing why?"

He stared at her, his eyes not as wide but a slight tremble in his bottom lip. "Why I helped or why I cut it out?"

"Let's start with why you helped."

He grinned a bit. "It got me into a shit load of cash."

Rinoa smiled at him, her eyes narrowing menacingly. "And it'll be extremely hard for you to spend that cash when you're dead."

Another static hiss. _"Rinoa!"_

With a soft laugh she tapped her long nails atop the desk as she slowly walked around him. "That was rude, my sincere apologies. Continue Mr. Vende."

Saul swallowed, a slight sheen of sweat above his lip. But the sheen was broken when he smiled, fully, showing all teeth. "I needed money. And he just wanted one thing in return for the money."

Rinoa didn't pause or jerk in surprise. "And do you know that that one thing is?"

"Why would I tell you?" he laughed, his voice pitching higher as he continued. "I didn't tell the officials anything! Why would I tell anything different to a meaningless, spiteful, sorceress bitch!"

Quistis and Irvine sucked in a breath from the other side of the glass. Just in case, Quistis began to make her way to the door.

Rinoa showed no signs of inner turmoil and instead gave him a small smile, her back towards the door. "Aren't you so eloquent," she said lowly, her voice dropping down to a guttural purr. "I'm assuming whoever you're working for didn't hire you for your persuasive speech."

Saul threw his head back and laugh once more, his voice high and shrill. "And I'm assuming your mother's glad she's dead so she wouldn't see her daughter grow up to be a heinous sorceress that should have been drowned at birth! I'm sure she would have killed herself if she knew what you'd become!!"

That broke the calm that threatened to break from Rinoa's nerve. She could feel everything inside her becoming encased with icy hate. Inside her blood boiled past the point of recognition. She couldn't hear anything except a shrill pitch that shook within her ears. Quickly she plucked the transmitter from her ear, hardly hearing static yell of _"Rinoa!"_ once again.

"Oh so it's come to this has it," she muttered, lashing out a hand and gripping her claws into the collar of his shirt. Violently she snarled and jerked him from his seat, nearly snapping the chains in the process. "You don't want to know what I've become," she growled to him. "You don't want to know what I _would_ have become."

A loud rattling came from the door and she aimed her free hand towards the door, lashing power, forming ice to completely cover the door. She could see a slight ripple on the mirror from someone's fists banging. With a grin she continued her power, sending ice in every direction until it had transformed the room into a solid ice cube.

When nothing but silence could be heard, she turned her attention back to the man trying not to scream in her grasp. Rinoa laugh bubbled from her throat like velvet and she released him, allowing him to fall back into his chair. "Now we can be alone. Just you and me."

Saul shivered against his chair, in fear and in temperature. His eyes widened as he watched Rinoa casually sit atop the desk, crossing her legs as she leaned her elbows on her knees, intensly watching him. What unnerved him the most was that despite the rage in her voice she had just displayed, she was staring at him with the most calm and emotionless eyes.

"So," she said softly. "Let's talk."

He couldn't speak when his teeth were chattering, vibrating practically in his mouth as his entire body could feel the cold seeping into him.

"Aw," Rinoa mocked, tilting her head to the side and pouting as if she actually gave a damn. "Are you cold? Tell me what I want to know and I'll heat things up."

Saul shook his head, trying to still his body to form the words."I do-d-d-don't know his n-n-name. I--I've never s-s-seen his face," he managed to get out. "But he w-w-wan--ts re--re--" He stopped, wishing she had broken the chains earlier so he could at least hold himself.

Rinoa snapped her fingers and ice melted away from beneath the seat, giving him some minimal heat. But she had to admit she found it rather amusing to watch his lips turn blue.

He sighed in relief. "Revenge," he finally said.

Immediately Rinoa was taken back to what was said in her dream. She focused back on Saul. "Revenge on the sorceresses? What for? What did we do?"

Saul laughed even though he regretted doing so, his lips shaking in the process. "What _hasn't_been done by the likes of you?" he said.

"Wrong answer." Rinoa hopped off the table and reached her hand behind his head, cradling his neck almost as her fingers laced in his hair, tugging it back harshly. "So punishment for whatever has been done in the past is to remove Hyne's heart? Hurting not just her but me and every single innocent girl!?" She tugged even harder, earning a small shriek from Saul as some hairs were yanked from the roots. "Many young girls are dead," she growled. "And they didn't even have an ounce of power within them. Is that how punishment for your boss works? To kill innocent young women?"

"If it's killing them why aren't you dead yet?" Saul cried.

Rinoa laughed and brought his head back up to look him in the eyes. "I am dying," she told him with a wicked grin. "But your boss obviously isn't smart. I am the most powerful and the strongest of the sorceresses of this time, I'll be the last to die."

Saul nearly cursed beneath his breath but Rinoa tugged once more on his roots. "But," she whispered. "I'm not getting away without a price. Hyne's heart is connected to each and every young girl, woman, old lady with the sorceress gene, what they feel _I_ feel. When they die _I _feel their pain and their last dying breath escaping my lungs. Do you have any idea what it feels like to feel someone's death?"

When tears brimmed the corners of his eyes from her pulling his head back, she unclenched her fingers for a moment, taking her hand away and discarding the yellow strands that were tangled around it. "Let me ask you, do you also know what it's like to have a heart that affects hundreds of women you don't even know? And if a cowardly bastard like you stole it and it was harmed to have it affect all those women and you feel it? Do you know what it feels like to have your heart taken out of its own cavity?" He responded with bubbling cries and stuttered words.

Rinoa clenched her fingers once more to the back of his head and brought his face so painstakingly close to hers. With a sly grin she trailed her free hand up his chest, a sharp nail slicing the fabric of his shirt. "Let's make you know." Before he could register her words she slammed her palm directly over his heart, power seeping through his pores, stringing through the ribs, latching to the heart, and pulling.

Over and over he screamed, writhed, deseperately tried to get away. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not relieve himself from her grasp or the venomous eyes that were staring into him. He could feel every minute movement of his heart being pulled, every tube still attached, stretching. It was as if the surface of her hand had suckers, sucking, inhaling, pulling, tugging, vacuuming his heart to come out.

"Tell me why he's after me!" Rinoa shouted to him, her words flying into his mouth from their closeness. "Tell me and I will stop!!"

Saul screamed but tried to get the words out. _"He's not after you!!"_ he shrieked.

Rinoa released his chest and head. Almost calmly she stood, her face still close to his. Despite the calm she showed him, inside the boiling blood stilled for a moment. "Then who is he after?" she snapped. "Why go through the trouble of hurting the sorceresses if he's not after them!!"

Saul gasped, the tears that rolled down his cheeks began to burn. He tried not to look down at his exposed chest where she tried to remove his heart. "He doesn't...care about the sorceresses..." he wheezed. "But who would...be most hurt if you...were killed?"

Rinoa's eyes widened and everything around her stopped. For a moment she swore her heart stopped--skipping a beat would be an understatement. Silence roared in her ears, blocking out Saul's desperate gasps, the pounding of his heart, and the slight sound of fists banging on the ice covered door. When she came back to the moment she looked down at his chest and turned away, the ice vanishing with every step. Quickly she grasped the doorknob and flung open the door causing Irvine and Quistis to nearly fall into her.

"What the fuck happened?!" Quistis yelled. "Why did you keep us out!?"

Irvine and Kadowaki sucked in a breath as their eyes landed upon Saul. "What did you _do _to him?" the doctor breathed, hurrying over to him to check his vitals. Her stomach nearly flipped at the sight. Over his heart was a perfect shape of Rinoa's hand, blood red, covered in welts and blood-filled blisters from the sucking power.

"He'll live," she said, her tone uncaring and brisk. "He hasn't told me much--claims he doesn't know much of anything--but I believe I've given him incentive to remember exactly how much he really does know."

Quistis glanced back from Saul to Rinoa's eyes and she gasped.

"What?"

"Your eyes," she whispered.

Rinoa arched a brow. "What about them?"

"They--they're _red_."

Rinoa rubbed her eyes briefly. "I slept too much." Without another word she exited the room.

"Where are you going now?" Irvine asked.

"Home. Whoever's doing this isn't after the sorceresses." She turned back around and crossed her arms. "They're after Squall."

Irvine stiffened and stared at her. "What do you mean? After Squall?"

"Apparently someone wants revenge against him. Someone from the past wants revenge against him, to hurt him, and to get to him he wants me dead. I think they believed if they ruined Hyne's heart it would kill me directly since I'm the sorceress of this time. The other sorceresses dying or being infected would be considered a bonus."

Irvine shook his head and swore, running his palm over his hair. "Well get home to Squall then. There should be a cab out front and we'll send back up in a minute to the apartment."

Rinoa nodded and walked swiftly to the entrance where the cab would be waiting.

Quistis sighed and looked back over to Saul, closing her eyes and grimacing again at the sight. "Irvine," she whispered. When she opened and saw him waiting for her to continue she said, "Rinoa's eyes were red."

"She said she slept too much."

She shook her head frantically. "No, I mean _red. _They're brown on the outside but the iris right around the pupil is blood red!"

Irvine glanced back to where Rinoa was walking. "Well, she _is_ pissed."

Rinoa continued walking, her stride steady and quick, all she wanted was to see Squall. Everything would be better once she saw Squall. Everything would be better once she was in Squall's arms, feeling his touch, his lips caressing hers, telling her everything would be alright.

But most of all, everything would be better when the bastard causing the pain would take his last breath, and she would be the one to claim it.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hey everyone! So this chapter made me it's bitch, so to speak. I had to hand write it because I didn't have my computer for a few days and my hand is KILLING me...it was murder to type this out. It's fairly long...was a lot longer near the end because I had a different scene but that'll go on the next chapter.**

**So we're getting pretty damn close, I wanna say maybe 10 (give or take) more chapters before this story is complete! Yay!! Then after that I have no freakin clue what I'll do.**

**Anyways I'm curious! Who do you guys think is doing this? ^_^ What would you like to see in this story?**

**xXx **

Rinoa kept her eyes upon the clasped hands in her lap as the taxi slowly pulled onto Squall's street. In the passenger seat before her sat an escort, hired muscle thanks to Irvine's quick phone call. And beside her was a small suitcase, filled with the torn evening gown she had worn, and extra clothes brought from the apartment.

The car stopped and Rinoa closed her eyes as a slight pinch throbbed in her temple. When the escort pulled open the door for her she ebbed the annoyance away and graciously accepted his hand. "A few more will be here in an hour," he told her. "But for now I'll be watching over from outside. If you two need anything—anything at all—don't hesitate to call."

Rinoa smiled and gently patted his shoulder. "Thank you. But right now I just want to rest with him. I don't think either of us plan on going anywhere."

As she entered the apartment the door welcomed her with a squeak that didn't seem to end. No lights were on, and the curtains were drawn to keep out the afternoon sun. _Just the way he likes it,_ she thought. She locked the door and set her effects onto the kitchen table, moving quietly towards the bedroom.

She found him on the bed, not even underneath the covers, his face halfway in the pillow as one arm was dangling over the edge. For a moment Rinoa believed Irvine when he said he had Squall drugged, but his shirt was off, and none of them would bother with something like that. Rinoa silently pulled off the sneakers that had been leant to her by Selphie and placed them against the wall.

Sighing softly, she crawled onto the bed, making sure her movements wouldn't wake him up. With a tiny smile she lifted a finger and traced it along the curve of his cheek, rounding down his jaw, softly caressing his lips. He frowned even in his sleep; ridges between his eyebrows that she knew would soon permanently set up home if he didn't knock it off. She tried her best to smooth them out, gently running the tops of her fingertips over them.

With a soft groan Squall's eyes peeled open, blinking the sleep out as he tried to register what was before him. When he discovered he was looking into the face of his beloved he quickly pushed up onto his elbow, ignoring the dizzying pain that sprouted within his skull.

Between them was agonizing silence as Rinoa waited for him to do something, say something—anything. She hadn't even realized she was holding her breath.

"Rinoa?" he whispered, his voice tumbling out as if he'd seen a ghost.

She gave him a faint smile. "It's me."

Before she could say anything else his hand lashed out and caught the back of her neck, pulling her down, his lips claiming hers. From his lips exploded need, want, and passion all in one seductive lure. Rinoa was nearly overwhelmed by the needing ferocity of it. This kiss, it _begged_. It showed how much he needed her, needed to be reassured it was really her, needed her to be alive.

When he pulled back he rested his forehead against hers, breathing deep as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I thought you…" he started. Then he roughly cleared his throat. "I thought you were dead when I saw you lying there." He pulled back slightly to look at her face.

"Not yet," she told him, smiling gently. "The bastard doing this won't have me so easily."

Squall softly caressed her cheek before his eyes lowered to the buttons along the center of her shirt. Nimbly his fingers encased one, unbuttoning one by on until he came to her middle. His eyes placed no reaction as they landed upon the black veins that spread from above her belly button to nearly the center of her collar bones.

"I wanted to tell you," she told him, leaning forward to rest her cheek upon his hair. "Please know that I did. I didn't know how. And to tell you after us being so happy to be back together…how could I say I was dying?"

Squall lifted his head to look in her eyes. "Does it hurt?" he murmured, his fingertips grazing gently over the center of the veins, between her breasts, over her thudding heart.

Rinoa sucked in a breath at the feel of his gentle touch. "Sometimes. I feel them when the others are in pain, but right now it's very dull."

Squall reeled back his arm and moved to lean against the headboard. With his icy eyes he stared at her. "Tell me everything," he demanded. "I don't want you hiding anything else. If there's something you haven't yet told me, tell me now."

Inwardly she groaned but returned his glare with steady eyes. "Even if—"

"Even if it's something I don't want to know."

Rinoa chewed her bottom lip and crawled up to him, leaning against the headboard with her shoulder. "Cigarette," she begged, holding out her two slim fingers as if she held an invisible one between them.

Squall jerked his head to motion for her to follow, bringing her back into the kitchen to grab an ashtray and a bottle of Southern Comfort. He set the ashtray and bottle onto the living room table and went to open the glass doors to vent out the smoke. When he pulled back the curtain and was welcomed with not only the sun but also a man in black with heavily muscled arms glancing around, he all but growled in annoyance. Menacingly he glanced at Rinoa over his shoulder and she smiled guiltily. "That would be one of the things you don't want to know."

Groaning, he slid back the glass door, staring at the man in black through the screen. Before the man could give a polite nod of acknowledgement, Squall turned back around and planted himself into the couch. He pulled the cigarette box from the drawer in the side table and tossed it to Rinoa after taking one for himself.

When they both settled down with their cigarettes and a few sips of Southern Comfort, Squall eyed her intensely. "Talk. Starting with the stiff outside."

Rinoa sipped from the bottle quickly and leaned back. "I spoke to the traitor of Caraway's military, Saul Vende, this morning. After a round of intimidation he admitted his employer is not after Hyne's descent…but rather_ you._"

Squall frowned and sucked on his cigarette. "So…in order to fuck with me they're fucking with you first."

"Pretty much."

"The bastard's at least somewhat smart."

Rinoa took a quick hit before continuing. "When I was…indisposed…I saw Hyne. She told me that whoever was doing this was someone from the past, that it could be someone with a brief fight or argument or something. Then Vende told me that the reason behind this entire cluster fuck is revenge."

Squall looked up from his cigarette and stared through the smoke. "So this person wants revenge on me." Rinoa nodded. "Did he say why?"

"Or course not, why would he? I figure I'll let the little creep heal a bit before questioning him again."

"What did you do to him?"

Rinoa shrugged innocently. "Nothing he hasn't caused to me."

"So now I'm going to have bodyguards up the ass."

"Pretty much."

Squall leaned his head back and groaned. "That's just perfect." He rolled his eyes towards Rinoa briefly before turning his vision up at the ceiling. "What else?"

"I don't know what else you want me to tell you." Rinoa smashed her cigarette into the ashtray and moved herself closer to him, resting her head upon his shoulder as she wrapped an arm around his bare waist.

"Where were you?"

"The hospital?"

Squall shook his head. "No. I mean for those five years. Where were you?"

Rinao sighed and buried her face into his chest. "A makeshift institution that has been hidden from all different branches of military. Odine recycled old equipment and machines that hospitals and the Esthar Memorial no longer used."

"Just you and him?"

"There were three others, not including Odine. But to keep the institution under wraps, their faces were covered and they only came in one at a time: one for morning, one for afternoon, one for night. Their shifts never over lapped, to fill in the gaps; Odine spent his time with me. He was the only one who knew who each of them were. They didn't know about each other…never saw each other. Odine hired them for only that amount of time. When I was considered stable they went back to their regular lives."

Squall ran his fingers over her hands. "You never knew who any of them were?"

"No, I had no reason to."

"You might now."

Rinoa straightened and looked at him directly. "What?"

He cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest. "Those three, even though you knew nothing about them, they knew everything about _you._ They were with you every day with their faces covered while yours was exposed."

Rinoa frowned, not liking where he was taking this. "What are you saying Squall?"

He turned fully towards her, gesturing with his hands every now and then. "Look, what if one of them—or all who knows?—didn't keep their mouths shut after everything was over? And maybe one of them knew someone who had a grudge against me or had on himself. Did you or Odine mention me or your history with me at all?"

"No, I had to take my emotions and shove them down in order to keep control…" Rinoa trailed off and broke away from Squall, hugging her knees close to her breast. "If they knew who I was and everything about me, they might have put two and two together."

"What are talking about?"

Rinoa closed her eyes and hugged her knees tighter. "I was sick the first few weeks of being at the institution; high fever, vomiting, sleeping all day…but I never thought anything of it. After a few more days I realized something."

Squall waited for her to go on but she released her knees to grab his cigarette pack. She lit one up and slouched back. She inhaled and exhaled the smoke a few times before turning to look him straight in the face. "I was pregnant," she said lowly.

Three words. Three words he never expected to hear. Three words he never expected _her_ to say. So many thoughts and words and curses ran through his mind. They had a child? No…she said _was_. But she was also saying past tense as it was five years ago. It's still alive? Killed? It? He—or she? But they used protection. _Always_ used protection. The last time they'd made love he was sure he used a condom—100% sure in fact. But then how—?

Rinoa snapped her fingers, bringing him out of his jammed freeway of a mind. "Still here?" she asked.

He found his throat had run dry, and that he'd forgotten how to use his tongue to wet his mouth. "How?" he managed to choke out. "We used—"

"Yeah we did. But one time we didn't." Rinoa grabbed another cigarette and placed it in between his lips. "You need it," she said as she lit it up for him. "Remember that week before I left? You had to give that speech to the newly recruited freshmen?" When Squall nodded as he vaguely remembered, Rinoa cocked her head to the side and arched her brows. "And about half an hour before you had to speak we snuck into the bathroom…?"

The cigarette dropped from his mouth and he quickly recovered it, wiping away the ash that brushed his pants. "Holy shit…" he muttered. "And I didn't have a condom."

"Because who brings a condom to a speech?"

Squall inhaled deeply and stared at a smudge on the glass table in front of him. "Where um…" He nervously cleared his throat. "Where is…it? Or…_fuck_ I mean—"

"I know what you mean," she smiled, gently placing a hand at his temple and tucking a strand of brown behind his ear. "I didn't make it past four months."

"So…" Squall shook his head as he thought of something comforting to say to her. When his mind remained blank he continued to shake his head.

Rinoa shrugged it off. "I wasn't meant to be," she said carefully. "Odine and everyone else were very helpful with my pregnancy but…these things happen." She shyly fiddled with her fingers in her lap. "And I wouldn't have wanted to have our first baby without you even being beside me."

Squall grabbed her hands free and kissed her palm softly. "Was it…would we have had a boy or girl?"

Rinoa smiled and lowered her eyes towards his hand encasing hers. "We would have had a little girl. I had her buried behind the institution, beneath an unmarked grave. I'd like to take you there one day."

"When this is over," he promised, kissing her fingers again.

Rinoa looked down at the branches that marred her porcelain skin. "I hope we end it soon," she whispered.

"We'll find him," Squall growled, taking her cigarette and crushing it with his in the ashtray. He cupped her face in his palms. "We'll find that son of a bitch and make him pay."

Rinao stared deep into his stormy eyes and smiled. "We'll rip his fucking heart out."

"Together."

"Together," Rinoa repeated, lifting her head higher until her lips met his. His hands moved from her face, skimming over her sides and gripped her hips tightly. She crawled onto his lap, relishing the feel of his naked skin beneath her fingertips.

He moved his arms to cup her thighs and he rose to his feet, waiting for her to wrap her legs around his body before he started moving. When she was situated he made his way towards the bedroom, kicking the door shut violently. They fell onto the bed, Rinoa's legs wrapped securely around his waist, her lips roaming over his jaw.

He pulled back despite her groan of protest to tear away her shirt, ignoring the last few bottom buttons. They aided each other in removing the last of their clothing until they both sat upon the bed, naked and eyes locked.

To see her bare, completely exposed—for _him_ and _only_ him—it was the most beautiful thing he'd seen in years. Despite the black veins she tried to cover with her hands, she looked like a goddess with her milky skin and black velvet hair that hung around her waist.

She slowly wrapped her arms around his waist, her nails gently scraping up the length of his spine. Together they breathed deep, inhaling each other's scent. Rinoa trailed soft kisses up the curve of his neck, her slightly pointed canines grazing delicately over the flesh. The pads of his fingertips caressed every inch of her skin, his lips hungrily gnawing at hers.

"I love you," they whispered before falling down into deep, raw, blissful passion. He kissed her deeply as he gently thrust into her, letting her body once again accustom to him. Rinoa gripped the bed sheets, her nails bending and shredding through the fabric as his body hovered over her.

With each thrust a thrum of pleasure rippled across her skin, causing her legs to shake and tighten, ankles locking together. He threw his head back, his throat moving as if inside were something alive, clawing to get out.

She rode him like a goddess mounting her stallion, her hair tumbling down the curving line of her back. His fingers gripped her hips, smashing her further down onto his length. He wanted his whole body within her, wanted where he couldn't tell where he ended and she began.

She looked down to him, her hair whipping around, nearly concealing her whole face. But he could see very clearly one eye, an eye that no longer was the warm chocolate brown, but instead a rich, lust-filled red. She swiped the hair away and a small grin curved into her luscious mouth. A hint of fang poked out between the full lips, and she now looked like a wild animal who claimed her prey.

_A wolf almost…_Squall thought._ Like me._ He had found his wild mate, he had found the one that would erase the lone wolf inside and would run with him for eternity. He had lost her once, and now, with her as humanly intimately possible, he would never lose her again.

She was beautiful. Stunning. Breath-taking. Addicting. And she was his.

Together they rocked and moaned, sending each other wave after wave of indescribable pleasure. Squall sat up, wrapping his arms around her lithe body tenderly but with ferocity only she could handle.

As Squall felt himself reach his peak, Rinoa slammed her lips onto his, tasting every inch of his mouth with her tongue and sharp teeth. She nearly cried out when the waves he shook through her over took her, throwing all her senses into a mad frenzy. For a moment she couldn't breathe, and she desperately clawed her nails into the fleshy meat of his shoulders.

Mouth open in a guttural growl, Squall arched his neck as his body released itself. Rinoa gasped as she clutched him, practically hanging on for dear life.

As their bodies slowly winded down, they panted, chests heaving as they stared foggily into each other's eyes. Rinoa's lips were parted and she poked her tongue slightly, tasting a spot of blood. When she brought a finger up and it came away with a smear of blood, she looked back at Squall who only shrugged in response. "I was into it," he grinned cockily.

Smiling and giving him a hearty smack on the shoulder, Rinoa couldn't do anything else but nod at his comment.

Squall sucked in a deep breath and leaned back into the headboard, his arms draping around Rinoa to bring her closer. She sighed deeply in complete content, her breath swirling a few hairs away from her face.

Neither noticed the minutes that ticked by as they lay in an oblivious bubble of love and sex. The bed became an island to itself. The world outside no longer concerened them, threatened them. Instead the world outside the bed was ignored, if only momentarily. But even then, the few moments Squall and Rinoa had together were enough to fasten the ties they once thought were severed.

**A/N pt 2: So this is the first sex scene I've written made public...yeah. I don't know, didn't want it to be trashy romance novel lovey-dovey-ness or smut...eh whatever.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Hello darlings! Here's the next installment--Go me for updating within the next day!!!--it's fairly short, but only because the next one's going to be HUGE.**

When Rinoa awakened she found the sun was just beginning to send, rays of dusk creeping in through the half-open curtains. As she sat up, keeping the sheet held across her chest, she noticed Squall's pant-covered leg behind the curtain on the patio, leaning over the gate and listening intently to what the body guard was saying.

Not wanting to disturb them, Rinoa quietly slid from the bed, dragging the sheet along with her for cover as she made her way into the bathroom. As she twisted the knobs she held out her hand, sighing as the water spilled across her palm. The instant it was her desired temperature she stepped in, relishing the feel of her fingertips trailing over the tender curve of her neck. She winced slightly at the pain she felt when she rubbed the raised flesh where Squall had left bite marks, and then smiled as she remembered the feel of his bare hands caressing her skin.

Suddenly the shower door peeled open and Squall stuck his head through, arching a brow and shooting her a suggestive smirk. "Evening," he said.

Rinoa smiled and leaned over, kissing his mouth and pressing her wet breasts against his still bare chest, water beading down the length of his throat. "Evening," she responded. "There's room for one more you know."

Squall grinned against her lips and pulled back to tug at his belt. Then the doorbell rang, followed soon after by an extremely perky knock. He snarled and pulled away from her arms, dragging his feet towards the door. When he saw Selphie behind the door, everyone else in line, he turned away. _Ignore them..._

The knocks came louder and fiercer. "We know you're in there!!" Selphie shouted. "Don't bother ignoring us!"

_Fuck._ Squall rose his lip in a snarl and opened the door enough to glare through the thin space. "What?"

"We're here to see how Rinoa's doing!" Selphie chirped, shrugging her small shoulders and holding up a plate covered with double fudge chocolate brownies.

"She's in the shower," he told her curtly, narrowing his eyes as if to hint. But as always the 'hint' flew past Selphie's head with flying colors, with only Irvine raising his brow knowingly.

"Then we'll wait!" Selphie said, practically pushing against the door, leaving Squall with no choice but to let them flood into the living room.

Squall went back towards the bathroom. "The gang's all here," he muttered. "I'm going to have to take a raincheck on that shower."

Rinoa pouted as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair. "Bummer. I'll be right out then."

Zell plopped onto the couch, stacking his feet onto the glass table only to have Squall knock them back down with a fist. "Hey!" he shouted. "It's glass, it's sturdy enough." He reached over and grabbed a brownie, shoving it quickly into his big open mouth.

"So I bet you're happy with all the stiffs outside," Quistis commented.

Squall settled into the reclining chair beside the couch. "I piss happiness."

Quistis chuckled at the comment and crossed her arms. "Well we can't afford to take any chances. After all, if this guy is practically killing Rinoa just for fun, who knows what he'll do to you."

"I know."

A small silence wrapped around them, broken when Rinoa ran through the hallway towards the bedroom, the towel nearly hanging off her body. Irvine craned his neck with his eyebrows up approvingly. "Damn she's still got the nicest legs," he said, giving a low whistle. "How come I never noticed?"

Selphie huffed and smacked him upside the head. "Because you were too busy staring at my ass!"

"Not to mention the body parts of every female on campus," Zell added.

"You can't blame him," Squall said, leaning his elbow into the arm of the chair. "Rinoa's legs _are_ amazing."

"No shit," she said, coming out of the bedroom, her legs exposed beneath the leather mini skirt. Rinoa barely made it into the room before being jumped by Selphie, the shorter brunette landing kisses across her cheek and attacking her with a bone-crushing hug, taking her down to the ground.

Quistis' eyes bulged a moment before she hunched over in laughter. "Selphie you'll kill her!" she cried, leaning over and helping the two up. The two stood and Selphie returned to Irvine, leaping onto his lap while Rinoa leaned her chin onto Squall's head.

"Good to see you're all right Rinoa," Zell said. "Have a brownie."

He passed the plate to Squall and Rinoa greedily yanked one. "Oh you guys know me so well," she gasped, moaning in happiness as she bit into the chocolate. "It's amazing!"

Quistis grinned and placed a hand onto Rinoa's shoulder. "Ok you two, we're all taking you out to dinner. We believe you two deserve it _desperately._"

"I think they both got what they deserved a bit earlier," Irvine said, wagging his eyebrows and tongue suggestively.

Before he could laugh at his own joke, he was responded with Selphie quickly jumping off him before Squall tackled him to the ground and greeted him with punches. Yet even with Squall and his wrath hovering over him, Irvine was still able to yell out, "I SMELL SEX AND CANDY...._HEEEEEEEEEERE!!_"

**xXx**

And hour later they were all seated at the restuarant in the center of Balamb, laughing and conversing as they ate. Zell pushed his main plate away after polishing off the last of his steak and grabbed his fries. Irvine was rubbing his sore ribs, thanks to Squall, as Selphie playfully kicked his foot beneath the table.

Rinoa smiled and pushed around the remaining steak meat with her fork. Squall leaned over, his mouth upon her shoulder. "You missed this, didn't you?"

She laughed and nudged him after seeing Zell wiggle a french fry in front of Quistis' nose, almost causing her to spit out her beer. "Yes. And admit it, you _love_ this."

"In all seriousness," Selphie said. "What are we going to do about the situation? I mean, we don't even know who it is we're looking for!"

"Somone obviously pissed at Squall," Irvine said.

"Quick, Squall, make a list of all the people you've pissed off!" Selphie grinned.

"Yeah, _that'll_ help. It'll take him years!" Zell shouted, quickly blocking the biscuit that was chucked his way by the Commander.

Rinoa laughed and rubbed his back. "Don't worry sweetheart," she said too sweetly, as he drank his beer. "Maybe you could narrow it down to just last year?"

"Should make it a month, then the list will be under fifty!!" Zell threw his head back and guffawed, seeping in the success of making Squall choke on his beer from trying not to laugh. "Yes!" He glanced around to everyone and their nearly empty drinks. "Anyone game for a round of shots?" Before anyone agreed or declined, he signaled the waitress, giving the gesture for shots and circled his finger around the group.

The shots came and they held their glasses carefully in the air for their 'toast.' Quistis stood up first and held her glass up higher. "Here's to finding this bastard."

Selphie stood and lifted her hand. "And making him suffer."

"And making him regret he _ever_ thought of fucking with the Commander," Zell beamed.

"To receive justice," Irvine announced.

Rinoa stood along with them and smiled at Squall. "To making it out alive."

Squall sighed, a hint of a smile on his lips as he stood. "Here's to...finding him and bestowing upon him the same pain he's put onto others."

Everyone whooped and cheered as they quickly threw their head backs, downing the alcohol and slamming the shot glasses onto the table. "Another round!" Irvine shouted, practically a war cry, and he howled when everyone agreed.

A shriek came from Squall's back pocket and he fumbled for his phone, hesitating when he saw the name on the screen. "Leonhart."

"I need you all to come to the Garden immediately," Cid rushed into the phone. "Saul Vende has agreed to take us to where he met with his boss."

A chill ran across Squall's neck and he gestured to Irvine, shaking his head to not order more shots. "We'll be right there." He hung up and stood. "Get the bill, we have to leave now." They all tossed down their money when the bill lay in the center and hurried out of the restaurant.

Rinoa had to nearly run in order to keep up with long, quick strides as they approached the car. Squall glanced over he roof of the car to the four others who dispersed to their own transportation. Inside the car he slammed his foot onto the accelerator, leaving the scent of burnt rubber in the middle of the street.

Cid was standing at the gate's entrance, his hands clasped behind his back as he waited for his students to arrive. He knew Squall was the first to arrive when he heard the thunderous roar of his engine. When everyone was standing before him, he spoke, "Rinoa, I am glad to see you're doing well."

She came up to him and gently kissed his cheek, shaking his arm affectionately. "We'll make him pay. We promise."

Cid nodded and smiled his thanks. "Vende will be arriving shortly, he'll escort you to where he met up with his boss before his arrest." He looked back at Rinoa for a moment. "Although he has requested that you keep your distance from him. I think you might have scared him a little." Cid grinned and wagged a finger at her.

Rinoa grinned and crossed her arms. "Good. Glad that little creature understands who he's fucking with."

Soon Vende was brought to them, his hands cuffed behind his back along with two of the body guards that had been watching over Squall's apartment. He shivered inwardly when he saw Rinoa, and the little wave of her fingers she did towards him. "All right," he muttered. "Let's get this over with."

Squall gripped Vende's bicep and shoved him towards the car. "Where is it?" he demanded as he strapped him into the backseat, making sure his cuffs were tight enough to keep him from moving around.

Vende protested, complaining that the cuffs were too tight, only to be answered with the door slammed in his face.

Squall ran his gloved hand over his hair, brushing it from his face as he glanced at the others. "All right," he growled. "Follow me." As he and Rinoa settled into their seats and started the engine, he glanced into the rearview mirror at Vende. "Where?" he repeated.

"Are you the one he's after?"

Squall turned around, pulling his Glock from his belt and aiming the barrel straight down Vende's nose. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Vende swallowed, his eyes darting to Rinoa who gave him the sweetest smile possible. "Ok fine! Just keep her away from me. I last met up with him at the Centra Ruins."

Rinoa arched a brow and looked at Squall. "Does he _live_ there?"

Vende shrugged, his eyes still on the barrel that glared at him mockingly. "I don't know, but that's where I always met up with him at. I think he just crashes there."

Squall pulled back his gun and turned off the car. "Could have told us that _before _we got into the car," he grumbled, getting out and unstrapping Vende. He nodded his head towards the others who looked at him, confused. "Centra Ruins," he called to them. "We're going on Ragnarok."

"I wanna drive!!!" Selphie screamed, taking off quickly into the direction of the plane.

**A/N: Yay Ragnarok ^_^ Me and my brother loved the music that played when inside it. Coming next time...Is the villain finally revealed???**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Yay me I updated earlier than I thought I would!!! Trying to update as much as possible since I probably won't be starting school for about another month or so…but I've been sucked into the land of Link on his constant mission to rescue Zelda…again. My brother got me Ocarina of Time for Christmas and I recently—finally—got a memory card so I can play it on the Wii. Anyways, I won't bore you…ONWARD!!!**

**xXx**

Selphie landed the Ragnarok with perfect skill, sighing happily as she shut of the engines. She turned around and skipped towards the exit, aiding Irvine in lifting Vende to his knees.

Rinoa scowled at the cowering man who would not take his eyes off her. Deep inside she felt a slight twinge of delight at the sight of his fear of her. She unbuckled herself and followed the rest of them off the plane.

As they approached the ruins, Irvine shoved Vende towards Zell, who kept a strong grip around his shackles as they continued on.

Squall and Irvine led the way through the ruins, weapons up as they carefully stepped over cracked stones and roots laying about that had been uprooted many years prior.

A small wave of nausea flicked through Rinoa's system and she paused for a moment, taking hold of a demolished pillar as she allowed the wave to pass. She inhaled deeply and followed the group.

As they entered the center of the ruins, they came across a discarded uniform top, much like the ones worn by the men from the train station. Squall bent down and scooped it up, twisting and turning it to get a better look. A patch on the shoulder caught his attention. There was the same oval-like symbol that was on the bodies from the men in cars.

Selphie poked her head around and looked at the symbol. "What is that?" She took the uniform from Squall's hands and stared at it intently.

Zell poked his head around towards a corridor. Soon the four—Squall, Zell, Irvine, and Quistis—stalked through the separate corridors, searching through every corner.

Vende remained with Rinoa and Selphie, both of which were still looking at the uniform. "What does the circular shape mean, Vende?" Rinoa said, not lifting her eyes from the fabric.

"I wouldn't know."

Displeased with his answer, she shot a hand around his throat and lifted him off the ground by a few inches despite Selphie's cries of discouragement. "What does the circular shape mean, Vende?" she repeated.

"Gah…I swear I don't know!" he managed to stutter out. With an annoyed sigh he was dropped to the floor. "I never saw him!" he said. "I saw a few of the people who worked for him, in uniforms like that, but never _him._"

"_Where_ in the ruins did you meet with him?" Selphie asked, yanking him to his feet since his hands were still bound.

Vende looked at her and nearly scowled. "Up near the top level. Where Odine once slept."

Rinoa glanced up towards the rickety stair case that led up. Twisting her lip in thought, she tapped Selphie's arm. "I'll be right back."

Quickly her arm was snatched. "What?" Selphie hissed. "You shouldn't go alone!" She hooked her hand through Vende's cuffs and dragged him along. "We're going with you." Even when Rinoa protested, the shorter brunette shoved her forward.

They quickly ran up the flights, not wanting the others to return and find them gone. When they finally reached the top Rinoa motioned for Selphie to wait. She quietly entered, her eyes darting around in case there was someone waiting. When she discovered the room was ghostly empty, her shoulders sank in disappointment and she turned back towards the door, only to be paused when she saw what hung in the threshold.

Hanging above the door like a charm was a thin, crisp envelope attached to a dead rose. Carefully she pulled it down, a shiver racing down the center of her spine as she saw her name scrawled across the paper. Neatly she tucked it away into the side of her skirt and hustled Selphie down the stairs. "There's no one up here."

"All clear," Irvine sighed as he came back to the main room where the girls were waiting. "This place is empty as all hell."

Zell wiped the thin film of sweat that formed along his forehead. "There's no one here." He looked over at Vende and firmly held his gaze. "When you were met with him, who was here?"

Vende shrugged. "He had his own military…if you can call it that."

"How many?" Rinoa asked.

"Small number, I'd say under a hundred." Vende looked over at Squall and smiled. "But…they were rejects of SeeD."

Squall looked his way, just as he wanted. "What are you talking about?"

"The children SeeD had turned away, _Commander._" He smiled smugly and shifted within his cuffs. "The children who weren't good enough for your precious SeeD were taken in by him and were given a chance to prove themselves. He took in the ones who had a personal vendetta against you and your kind, and gave them an opportunity to fulfill it. Yes, the students _you yourself_ rejected are now coming for you."

Squall hoisted Vende off the ground, curling his fists around the collar as he violently shook him. "And what's _your_ excuse?" he snapped. "What's _your_ 'personal vendetta' for causing such misery?"

"He just wanted money," Rinoa called. "He's a pathetic little worm who threw away all his money in gambling." She tucked a strand of black and blue behind her ear as she glared into Vende's eyes, a small grin forming as she saw him quiver. "I remember you now. I overheard Caraway complaining about a little man who would come to training late because he spent the entire night prior getting the shit beat out of him for cheating a game."

Selphie let out a squealing laugh. "Seriously? That's sad!" She began to dance in a circle dumbly to mimic Vende. "Wah I'm going to help hurt someone way stronger than me because I have no money and life since I cheated and got _fucked up_ like a little bitch!"

Squall dropped Vende to the ground with a grin at the sight of the man wincing in shame. "She's got you dead on," he muttered.

Vende coughed as he lay on the floor. "It doesn't change a damn thing," he rasped. "Your beloved is still going mad, her sanity lessoning with each passing minute! Soon she'll lose all sense and you'll have to put her out of her misery!"

The thick point of Squall's gunblade pierced into the ground before Vende's nose, missing his flesh by a mere breath. "I'd watch your fucking mouth if I were you." He eased up slightly from leaning against the weapon and looked over to Rinoa across the room.

She moved her eyes away from Vende until they met with Squall's. She knew what he saw. Now that her infection was known, she no longer covered the flesh beneath her collarbone, and now wore a simple black tank top that hung low across her breasts. The blackened veins reached higher, some branches working up her throat. Her eyes she could feel were red, slowly seeping over the deep brown.

Hell, if she saw herself walking around she'd think her crazy too. She opened her mouth to say _'What if he's right' _only to be interrupted by Quistis rushing into the room.

With her hands on her knees for support she panted wildly. "You…you guys have _got_ to see this," she wheezed out between breaths. Quickly she waved her hand out and took off running back down the darkened hall.

Swiftly the five ran after her, Squall practically dragging Vende's body along the rocky floor. "Quistis what is it?" Irvine gasped as he met her pace.

She shook her head slightly, keeping her eyes ahead of her. "I can't…explain it. It's…HUGE!" She grabbed his shoulder and pulled to the right, signaling for everyone to follow. There they approached a dim room, lit only by the sunlight creeping through the cracks of the walls. "There!" Quistis shouted, pointing ahead of her.

Suddenly all eyes fell upon a giant opal globe, the top cracked open, covering the stone ground in shards. Squall shoved Vende against the wall as he slowly walked up to the object, the shards loudly crunching beneath his boots.

"What…_is _that?" Selphie whispered. Silently she grabbed Rinoa's hand, squeezing her fingers roughly yet receiving no response from her. Rinoa only stared, her mouth dry as the globe sat ahead of them, seemingly innocent and beautiful.

Zell reached out and touched it with his palm. "It's brittle."

"Yet sturdy," said Irvine.

Squall looked up the broken middle of the round thing, his gloves running over the jagged spikes. "It's like…" he began, not sure of how he would finish.

"It's an egg," said Quistis, now with her breath returned to her. She calmly came to Squall's side as she studied it. "It's been here for a while," she muttered, eyeing the dust and cobwebs that stretched across the top.

Rinoa finally stepped forward. "Then what's it doing _here?_"

"Wait…we've seen this before," Selphie moaned.

Quistis turned and faced her. "It's Norg," she told her. "Norg is the one who has Hyne's heart!" Quistis said. "_He's_ the one poisoning the sorceresses. The circular shape on the uniforms is the _exact_ same shape as this!"

"But Norg's egg was left beneath the Garden," Zell argued.

"He holed himself inside the egg like a coward to regain strength," Squall snarled. "After he ran he most likely did the same thing here."

"But…_why?_" Selphie hissed, clutching her head as the new information swarmed around her.

"Well why _not?_" Irvine muttered. "We kicked his ass and took away what he loved most—his meal ticket."

Quistis gently placed a hand over the smooth surface of the cracked open egg. "Rinoa was told it was revenge. He wants revenge against the one who took it away!"

Eyes turned to Squall, who only crossed his arms in anger. "Why me? Cid is the one who runs the Garden, and he just lost his wife. Maybe it isn't _me_ specifically who Norg holds his grudge against."

"But _you_ are the one who defeated him," Zell said. "Cid may be the headmaster, but _you_ are the one who makes orders and enforces them. Cid overlooks and cares for the students while you run the mercenary groups. _You _are the one SeeD answers to. _You_ are the one who led us to defeat Norg."

Rinoa jerked, her shoulders clenching tightly as if a cold chill tapped up her spine. She could feel every inch of her skin tingle as anger and hatred spread its course. Now she knew who was killing her. She had yet to know why…but she knew who he was.

And he wasn't there.

He wasn't there in front of her mocking her and threatening her. No, instead there was an empty shell, along with a dead rose and a note that read _'See you soon.'_ He knew. He knew they would find his place, he had expected it. _All I ask if for my hands around his throat…_she thought bitterly, crushing the rose and note in her fist. As the blood welled up from where the thorns punctured, she glanced back to see Squall running his hand over his hair in frustration. _That's **all** I want. Just to throttle him…__**Kill HIM **__**is more like it**__…no, no…I just want to hurt him, torture him maybe._

Rinoa dropped the rose to the ground as she saw Vende leaning against a wall almost casually. He didn't have a care in the world. He didn't know what he was causing, no idea what lives were at stake. An infant born last night with the goddess mark could be dead in minutes and he wouldn't even blink. _He deserves to **die** with the rest of them…should be **hung with a rope** stained in the blood of the women who have fallen._

Before she could stop herself, Rinoa growled lowly, her eyes fixated on Vende. When he looked up in her direction, his eyes wide as if to say 'What'd I do?' she sprang forth, standing before him in a mere second. Quickly she grasped his collar between her fists, slamming him into the wall. "You know where he is!" she snarled, thrusting him into the wall again, causing the stone to crack.

"Rinoa!" Selphie cried, trying to tear away the grip Rinoa now had on Vende's throat. "You're not making it any better!"

Rinoa released her grip for a moment, only to lash out her hand at Selphie, knocking her to the ground. Her view was completely obscured by rage as crimson as her eyes. Again she clenched Vende's neck, tightening and piercing his flesh with her claws while he screamed.

"_Soon she'll lose all sense and you'll have to put her out of her misery!" _Squall thought bitterly as he watched Rinoa continually thrust Vende's head into the wall. While the others were screaming and shouting, and Irvine dotingly helping Selphie to her feet, Squall couldn't take his eyes off Rinoa. _She could kill him,_ he thought. _And would I actually care?_

"Squall!!" Zell shouted, smacking him roughly in the shoulder. "Do _something!_"

With a quick breath he lunged at her, wrapping her head into a hold, applying pressure as she writhed. He managed to tug her away from Vende, who now fell to the floor in a bloody lump. She snarled and clawed at his arms like a wild animal. After a few swipes she managed to break through the leather, slashing his flesh. Biting back a groan in pain, he tightened his hold, keeping the air from entering her lungs. She gasped, her hands desperately trying to pull his arms away.

Finally she gasped once more before crashing into unconsciousness, wilting in Squall's arms like a flower. Squall lost his balance in exhaustion and fell to his knees. Gently he caressed Rinoa's face, pushing away her strands of hair.

Quistis fumbled for Vende and hurriedly felt for a pulse. She swallowed roughly and turned to Squall. "He's dead," she whispered, pulling her fingers away from his throat and broken skull.

Irvine sucked in a breath and swore. "What do we do now?"

Squall bit back the urge to shout. _What do we do now what do we do now?_ he cynically thought. _Why is it always me to be asked? The world will end before someone answers with the obvious. _Quietly he stood to his feet, swiftly scooping Rinoa into his arms and he headed towards the exit. "We go to Odine and lock her up."

**A/N: There's the evil bastard you've been waiting for! What'd you think of him being it? I personally hated him in the game because he was so lame, and the whole concealing himself inside an egg bubble and then busting out unseen made my head spin. So now this way I get to fuck with him! If you don't like him, don't worry, you'll enjoy the scene I have him in a few chapters from now. And yes, Rinoa has gone beserk.** =)


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hello lovies! On a few random notes, I just realized I started this story over a year ago, crazy! And I have started cosmetology school last week so updates will be appearing very sporadically. Bumbling apologies in advance. This chapter was actually split into two parts so maybe the next one will come soon...keyword=MAYBE.**

**Onward!!**

**xXx**

"What in world has happened?" Odine gasped, his hand clutching the fabric of his shirt as Squall all but thundered into his office, an unconscious Rinoa strewn in his arms. Instinctively he raced up and felt for a pulse. When he found it, steady and thumping, he relaxed and pulled back. "What happened?" he repeated, much more slowly.

Carefully Squall shifted her weight. "She went insane. Killed Vende. Now she's out."

The fierce ice that encased Squall's words caused Odine to take a hesitant step back. "The poison," he whispered. "It has driven her mad."

"We kinda got that," Selphie put in. "But now what do we do? Where can we put her, I mean, it's not like we can just let her hang out at the apartment lest she go nuts again."

Odine shuffled away, motioning for them to follow. "The scientists and I have been working on this for only a few days, but it should hold her." He led them down a wide corridor and stopped when he reached a small room. "Inside is the same energy that seals their powers."

"Great, just leave her in there until she calms down," Zell said.

"It's only temporary," Odine argued. "Like I said, we've only been working on it for a few days. We were hoping that in case a situation like this happened, we could have her in here. She would remain conscious and we would not have to resort to the actual sealing process."

Squall glared into the room, his eyes skeptical of the glass, no matter how thick it was. "Temporary in what way?"

"The energy does not seal her powers. In a way it weakens them, so she would not be able to harm herself, or others, or the glass." He rapped a knuckle on the clear surface, the sound that emanated from the action matching that of steel. "She won't be able to get out. But, it isn't finished, and with her strength who knows how long it will last." Sighing, his eyes washed over her features. "Not to mention, when she awakes she won't be all too happy to discover her powers weakened. No sorceress would ever take to that kindly."

Without hesitation Squall handed Rinoa to Zell and gestured for Odine to open the doors. He turned to Quistis. "I want you to stay here and keep tabs on her, let me know the minute she wakes up."

"Of course. But where are you going?"

When the door firmly closed he took a quick glance behind. "I'm going to speak to Caraway about Vende. Remember," he said, signaling to everyone, "_no one_ knows of what she did."

As they nodded comprehension he motioned for them to leave. Squall turned back to Odine when everyone except Quistis had left. "Who were the three people that were with Rinoa?" he demanded lowly.

"What?" he wheezed. "How—"

"She told me she never saw their faces or heard their voices, and that you were the only one who knew who they were."

Quistis cast Squall a quick glance and frowned.

"You think one of them had something to do with this?"

"Norg is the one doing this," Squall muttered. "But I have this feeling that one of those persons who worked with Rinoa was not trustworthy. I believe that at least one of them is associated with Norg, or even Vende, and this plan of attack. So, doctor, I need the names and addresses of those people."

Odine barely stuttered out an excuse when the younger man was upon him, his fists encasing the fabric of his shirt as he pulled him down, his icy eyes flaring into his. The doctor gulped and frantically tapped his wrists. "I don't remember their names by heart! I will have to look through my files!"

Squall slowly released his grip. "Find those files."

**xXx**

A small buzzing was in her ear, whirring almost. Several thoughts at once raced through her head, speeding past so quickly it made her head spin from hardly even trying to make sense of them. Holding her head tenderly, she sat up, grunting in frustration as the thoughts now flickered. She took soothing, deep breaths, keeping her eyes closed as she tried to calm herself.

When the thoughts paused, she opened her eyes, staring straight into a thick purple curtain ahead of her. Her mouth parted in confusion, and she slowly stood to her feet, making way towards the drape as if in a trance, oblivious to the small room she was in.

She gripped the curtain and yanked it aside, her eyes widening at the view of scientists walking around and conversing with each other. Frantically she glanced around outside, pressing her palms against the glass as she watched them, watched them go about as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. It was then that she looked behind at her surroundings, alarm and panic surfacing when she realized what she was in. _I'm caged, trapped. __**Like an animal!**__ Like a prisoner. Like a __**monster.**_ The words that danced in her mind became quick flashes, clicking and snapping, briefly displaying a man's face, her hands covered in red, screams, shouts.

Rinoa cried out and gripped her skull, trying to stop the images that ran through her. She could feel the veins along her temples pulse and throb, feeling as if they would pop from the pressure. Inside her throat were choked sobs, her stomach lurching as if she would heave.

_Why are they doing this? Why am I in here? __**To trap me. To imprison me. To keep me from...**__From what from what? They think I'm a danger that I'm a monster that I'm crazy. __**You are crazy. You're fucking crazy.**__ They can't do this they can't do this. Who do they think they are? _"Stop it!" Rinoa shouted, faltering backwards as she slammed her palms upon her skull to quiet the voices. _You can't make me. You can't make you. You don't even know who you are what you've become. __**You don't know what you've done.**_ "Shut up! Shut up shut up!" She cried out in frustration and fell to her knees, slapping a fist onto the ground, wishing the pain would take focus off these voices within.

Moaning, she lifted her head up, hoping someone would see her, hoping someone would help her.

_Why would they help me why would they give a shit you're nothing to them you're nothing you're__** nothing. **_She caught sight of her hands, completely clean except for the copper brown of dried blood crusted beneath her fingernails. _What have I done? _ Rinoa shot to her feet and pounded her fists upon the thick glass, unbreakable even beneath her violent fury. She bared her teeth as she screamed, slamming fist over fist.

Finally the attentions were caught. A young nurse gasped, fingers rising to her lips, and she quickly scurried away. Few doctors paused, jaws dropped as they watched Rinoa scream and shout, her fists abusing the glass over and over.

"Get me out of here!" she shrieked. _Let me out let me out letmethe__**fuck**__out!!!_

The nurse returned with her hand wrapped around Quistis' bicep painfully. "I don't know how long the glass will hold, and she isn't doing any damage to it, but…_look_ at her!"

Quistis sucked in a breath at the ferocity of Rinoa's screams and punches against the glass. Words escaped her as the younger woman continued to beat against it, her fists soon red from the abuse. Hardly thinking, she stepped closer to the room, trying to move her hands in a 'calm down' gesture, but Rinoa just seemed to stare straight through her, her eyes menacing and wild as she screamed and screamed. "Page Odine, _now!_" Quistis ordered the nurse, who was already reaching for the PA.

Odine's response when he arrived was only his eyes large and mouth gaped open. Any thought to calm her was instantly relinquished.

Quistis yanked out her phone and dialed for Squall. "Get here now!" Quistis shouted at his voice mail, and then gasped in relief when she saw that he was coming around the corner. "Oh thank god," she panted. "You're here."

Squall hurried towards the glass prison Rinoa was trapped inside. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of her, her forehead pressed against the glass as her bruised hand were now just slapping, the energy inside the room having drained her strength and her screams lost their viciousness. "What's going on?" he whispered.

Quistis shook her head. "To put it bluntly I think she's snapped! When I came here she had just woken up moments before and started attacking the glass. The energy inside however has definitely drained her, she's calmed down—if you can call it that—after a few minutes."

"Let me try and talk to her," Squall said, shoving his way through the crowd of confused scientists that stood before Rinoa. As Squall stood before the glass he inhaled deeply, his eyes wincing at the sight of Rinoa's palms, now an inky purple and pink. Inside the curve of her palms were tiny bloody indents, from her talons when her fist was curled and punching.

Then she slammed her fists again, this time moving so her body and face were in plain view. Squall saw the anger pained in her face, her lips up in a snarl as her slightly sharpened teeth glistened beneath the light. But as her eyes crossed over his face, the frown knitted in her eyebrows loosened, the snarl melting away to a surprised mouth. Her red eyes widened, her features softening as she stared into his eyes. Her jaw dropped ever so slightly as she mouthed his name.

And then her lips slowly formed a soft smile, completely erasing any trace of the horrific snarl she had moments before. Squall lightly smiled at her, placing his hands against the glass to meet with hers. Rinoa sighed, closing her eyes as she leaned her forehead to the wall.

Odine saw the dramatic change in her behavior and quickly waved his arms, forcing the scientists away from the glass. He yanked up a first aid kit and hurried towards Squall. "You are the one keeping her sane my boy," he whispered. "You must go in there and clean her wounds." Quickly he shoved the kit into Squall's arms and made his way towards the computer. "Hurry, hurry! For every second that door is open the energy restraining her weakens."

Squall slowly entered the glass prison after the walls were opened, standing before Rinoa who now looked lost with her bruised hands a clutch over her ribs as she stared at him. When the walls were closed once again he leaned over, placing a gloved hand upon the curve of her cheek. A small pain throbbed inside when he saw the red of her eyes had spread, swirling like blood in milk, no longer any trace of the chocolate brown he'd been used to. "What's happening to you?" he whispered.

Rinoa moaned as she leaned her head into his chest. "I don't know," she gasped.

Quickly he wrapped his arms around her, his lips buried beneath her hair as he inhaled deeply. A small pang jolted his heart as he heard her whimper softly, reminding him of a small animal in a trap and caught between the decisions of death or chewing off its leg in small hopes of survival. Slowly he reached behind him and tugged the curtain to conceal them.

She sniffed and detached from him, setting herself down to sit on the bed, which was more like a cot. "I…" she began, her throat suddenly closing and she stopped to steady herself. Dutifully Squall came to her, kneeling down before her as he rested his hands upon her knees. "I'm losing my mind…" she said. "I'm seeing things. I'm hearing things. I'm fucking _arguing_ with myself." She unfolded her hands from her ribs and stared at the palms Squall had wiped clean in the Ragnarok. "And…and I think I killed someone."

Squall kept his eyes upon her steady and hard. He was hoping she wouldn't remember that. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Rinoa glanced up, her eyes blank as she registered the question. "We um…we went to the ruins. And we found something…something important. It was…" She turned away and frowned as she tried to remember. When she saw Squall's face outside the glass, it cleared away the voices, neatly cleaned them away. But it left her mind blank, empty, hardly even able to complete one sentence without pausing like an idiot.

"We found out who is doing this," Squall answered for her.

"Right. Right," she agreed, looking back at him. "It was…um." That was it. _Um? Fuck._ Rinoa groaned and rubbed her temples. Why couldn't she _remember? _She waved her hand to silence Squall when he opened his mouth to tell her. "It was…" In her mind she placed herself back into the center of the ruins. Everyone was there. She went into a room and found a note. What it said she couldn't bother to recall. And then someone…no, Quistis, found an… "There was an egg," she whispered, lowering her hands back into her lap. "It's…Norg?"

Squall took her hands into his own. "Yes."

Rinoa was about to nod in understanding but a quick, sharp pain exploded in her chest. She cried out and fell forward, collapsing into Squall's chest as she writhed, howling as the pain thumped rhythmically like a spiky heart beat. Her nails dug into his arms as he supported her, telling her to breathe in and out. She sucked the air into her mouth, blowing it out fiercely, the pain slightly starting to fade. Outside of the glass wall she could hear panicked footsteps and hurried shouts of orders.

After a few moments the pain dissipated and the footsteps and shouts were substituted with horrid silence. Rinoa slowly pulled back and stared Squall in the eyes. "We need to find him soon," she whispered breathlessly. "One more life has been lost and I don't know how long I can stand this."

"I know." Squall tightened his jaw and brushed away a few strands that hung before her eyes. "Which…brings me to something I've wanted to tell you." He cleared his throat and situated her so she was leaning against the wall. "I was talking with Caraway briefly before you…woke up, and we think we've come up with a way for you to cope with the pain."

She looked at him skeptically and squirmed uncomfortably. "It can't be to keep me in this room. My powers may be drained but that still hurt like hell."

"Rinoa, look at me." He held her chin between two fingers, forcing her to stay still and do as he said. "The best thing might be to seal your powers."

Her eyes widened and she immediately flew from his grasp, slamming her back against the wall. "No!" she shouted. "I am not going back to Esthar!"

Squall winced as she screamed at him, desperately trying to further herself despite the close proximity. "Rinoa…"

"No! Fuck you! How could you even _think_ of asking that of me? And conspiring with my father?"

"You offered yourself to be sealed before."

She hissed and kept her back flattened against the wall as much as she possibly could. "I was a child," she grumbled. "A silly little child afraid of being outcast because of a slight case of difference. If Eshtar found me a threat back then I don't want to know what they think of me now, nor do I want to know what they have intended for me."

"Laguna is still president of Eshtar, he will ensure your safety."

"They won't let me wake back up. They'll never want me to. Just like they never wanted Adel to wake up. I will not trust them."

"Rinoa—"

"You cannot ask me to abandon my children!" she screamed. "They _need _me. Even though the pain makes me want to rip out my own heart just so I won't have to deal with it, I will endure it until this entire fucking mess is resolved." Her shoulders dropped a bit as she sighed. "I need to see this through."

Squall shook his head. "Somehow I knew you were going to say that," he cursed. "All I ask is that you think about it. If you're sealed, the pain won't affect you and when you're reawakened the entire situation will be dealt with, and you can connect with your 'children' then."

His sentence came out more condescending than he had meant it to be, and for once he actually regretted not reviewing his words before they exited his mouth. The heat that flared within Rinoa's eyes sent a small, very slight, shiver up his spine.

"Fine," he spat, covering his regret with anger. "Whether you like it or not, it is the best choice for you. But if you want to keep feeling pain, scream your head off and get locked up every time you go fucking insane, that's fine by me."

In response she moved away from him, giving her back and clamped her arms around her knees. "Reprimand all you want Commander," she hissed. "You can't do shit without my permission."

Squall pulled aside the curtain and roughly knocked on it to get the attention of the tech assistant. He pointed to the keyboard that Odine had typed in the combination. When the doors opened he slid through skillfully without giving Rinoa a second glance. Steadily he stomped through the corridors until he found the doctor. He looped a fist around Odine's arm and pulled him aside. "We need to seal her powers."

Odine would have laughed if he hadn't noticed the solemnity that thundered inside the Commander's eyes. "You know she'll never allow it...not after the last time. We'd need her permission and there's no possible way she'd give it to us now. I can't say any number of bribes or promises would ever change her mind."

Squall slammed his fist into the wall and leaned down to the doctor's face. "The poison is what's making her mad. If we seal her we can halt the pain and decrease the risk of her hurting or killing anyone else."

The older man kept Squall's gaze, returning it with steady vigor. "That is true," he said. "Yet she could still die, Commander. Sealing her powers would definitely prevent her from feeling any amount pain, but death cannot be eluded."

"I know."

Odine watched every slight emotion that washed over Squall's face, despite his permanent stone features. "You'd rather her be euthanized," he said, his voice void of argument or disapproval. "You'd rather her go peacefully."

"And if it was possible I'd seal the powers of every woman and girl in these hospitals."

The doctor sighed and nodded sadly. "And I agree with you Squall, I really do. But we still cannot do the procedure without her permission."

Squall pulled out the paper he had rolled up inside his jacket and slapped it into Odine's palm. "Here's the paperwork."

Odine scanned over the pages before looking up at Squall in horror. "You forged her signature?" he whispered.

"Anything to get her sealed. Do it tonight."


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Hello darlings! I had really hoped this one was coming up sooner, but I've been busy. And if the action is a little iffy, I'm sorry, I rushed and I just really wanted this done and posted. XOXO**

**xXx **

Rinoa kept her forehead pressed firmly against the wall, her finger tips tapping in a slow rhythm. The curtain was still pulled aside and she knew outside the glass was a promising audience. _They don't care…so why should I?_

From a slow glance into the glass behind her, she saw a faint transparent reflection of herself, and she turned back to the wall. They had tried to offer her food, and she dismissed it, not finding the energy or care to eat, the only nourishment she would take was water. And in those few hours of refusing food, she could already see it in her ribs. She hadn't eaten since the restaurant…it was only last night. _Seems forever,_ she silently quipped. She had no knowledge of the time when she had awoken, or the duration of her sleep, all she knew it had at least five hours since then, and she noticed the staff had lessened a bit and the security heightened. She guessed it was later in the evening.

Her anger had demanded she release it, but no one was quick to oblige, and she settled for taking it out on the measly little cot they tried to pass as a bed. It lay in shattered pieces beside the wall, the blankets in a puddle of ripped fabric, and the pillow which Rinoa thought was more like a Maxi pad was strewn in pieces across the room. Since the room wasn't exactly 'perfected,' there was no source of ventilation, and Rinoa had to succumb to tearing off strips of her clothing in order not to be sweltered. At first they hesitated in repeatedly giving her water, since every time the doors were opened she regained some power, but after Odine saw her dehydration he demanded she be given water every hour or less.

_What was he thinking,_ she mused. _To ask that?_ He told her it was for her own good, to protect her, because he loves her. _For my own good to be prey? __**To be weak?**__ To admit you're a__** threat.**_

Rinoa slumped down into the corner, her hair plastered to her forehead from sweat, and she stared vacantly out through the glass. Outside she saw Quistis, arguing with Odine, pointing at Rinoa and shaking her head. Odine simply put up his hands in a sorry dismissal and hurried away. Quistis slammed a palm to her head and dropped down into a chair.

Rinoa lowered her head to stare at the nearly empty water cup. She lifted her hand slightly, and smiled when the water jumped from the cup and splashed onto the top of her head. Sighing in content, she leaned her head back. _It won't be long now…_

**xXx**

Odine raked his fingers through his straggly white hair as he looked around the office the hospital allowed him to use while the situation of the Sorceresses were at hand. He wasn't exactly too comfortable with this new predicament, if anyone found out…he and the Commander would be charged with fraud, and that was something he definitely did not want to deal with.

"Everything is ready, Doctor," his assistant called from the doorway. "Our transportation will be here momentarily to relocate the Sorceress to Esthar."

"Yes, thank you." He turned to the strongest security the hospital had to offer, and even a few of SeeD graduates sent in from Squall. "Inside that room," he began, his throat swelling when he saw Quistis enter through the threshold. He swallowed when she crossed her arms and glared at him intently. Quickly he cleared his throat and continued, turning his eyes away from her. "Inside that room is the most powerful woman you will come across in your entire lifetime. Even though her signature is on this paper, she will not go easily. This is a direct order from the Commander, and it must be completed as quick and cleanly as possible. There is no room for mistakes." He gestured towards one of the SeeD's who had a tranquilizer gun strapped to his chest.

The SeeD nodded and removed the gun to release the safety. "Lock and load guys," he ordered, immediately followed by synchronized metallic sounds of the guns opening and closing.

Odine walked over to Quistis who was obviously appalled by the display. "I can't believe you're allowing this," she whispered. "She's already locked up like an animal and now you're having her hunted and packed up and delivered."

"It's for her health and safety."

Quistis swallowed and shook her head. "Try telling her that," she barked and began to turn away. As she furiously began to march down the hall, she was interrupted by a man in a torn security uniform running her way and waving his arms madly.

"Everybody get down!" he screamed.

A sharp whistling pierced Quistis' ears and she instinctively ducked for cover. She landed on her belly, and she covered her head as the floor beneath her shook violently. The explosion wasn't on her side of the hospital, but it was close enough. She scrambled to her feet and raced towards the commotion. Very briefly did she check up on the nurses and patients she passed, but she quickened her pace when she deducted the point of impact—in the very same wing that Rinoa was locked in. "Shit!" she hissed.

She silently prayed thanks to whatever deity was watching over when she saw Rinoa, safe yet not exactly sound, inside the glass. Quistis hurried to the control panel to enter the password. She glanced up and saw Rinoa against the glass, staring at her with a "What the fuck just happened" look. "I might lose my job, but fuck it I'm letting you out of here!" Quistis muttered, slamming her palm onto the control board that was proving to be an enemy thanks to the piece of shrapnel wedged into its side.

Around her she heard the sirens ordering evacuation, and the panicked shouts of all inside. She had to think quickly, whoever caused the explosion was most likely reloading, and she hoped the hospital securities and SeeD's Odine and Squall had hired were focused on fighting rather than taking claim of Rinoa.

The dulled sound of Rinoa's palm smacking on the glass caught her attention, and Quistis glanced up in time to see Rinoa mouth "_MOVE._"

Quistis dodged the second explosion, this one aimed directly for the bottom of the thick glass she was standing in front of. She cried out as she fell to the floor, crashing her head against the marble ground covered in glass and concrete. "Rinoa..." she gasped as she tried to pull herself up.

Rinoa had moved back towards her corner after warning Quistis, and she held her arms out protectively in front of her when the missile collided with the glass, shattering it to pieces. She moved her arms away to see the missile lying on the ground, completely crumbled as a result from creating a large hole in the thick glass.

The energy that Rinoa had felt upon her earlier, the sick and smothered feeling like a wet cloth draped over her nose, was suddenly lifted, practically sucked out through the jagged hole. Rinoa's breathing quickened as fresh air was suddenly slamming into her, but she clenched her fingers as she glanced around through the glass, checking for who had aimed the weapon and if it was aimed for _her._ She glanced down as she kept her eyes focused on the ground as she heard and felt someone stepping towards the room. The pace was slow and steady, obviously not someone from the hospital. Without looking she could tell it was a man, could feel his masculine aura drowning her.

The man came closer and closer until he was standing before the hole of the room.

Beneath her clawed hand a crackle of energy emerged, forming in her palm like a star. Her heart raced as the fight or flight adrenaline swam through her veins.

The man stepped through without any hesitation, boots crunching over the glass as he slowly made his way over to her.

Rinoa panted, finally glaring up through her hair defiantly. Her eyes blazed when she saw that the man, still standing at the entrance of the hole, was wearing a hood to keep his face concealed. _**Coward!**__ You dare to assault me yet hide your face._ She continued glaring at him, grinding her teeth as she kept her power hidden while it formed.

Then the man bowed before her, his head down as he spoke. "Sorceress Rinoa, I have come for you."

She cocked her head. "Am I supposed to be threatened?" she growled.

He lowered his head even more. "No. I came here to release you from this prison the humans have placed you in, and to save you from another. You must come with me Sorceress, for your safety."

Rinoa stood to her feet, the power in her palm completely dissipated as she gauged the man with his face concealed by a hood. "I go with no one," she hissed. "I will wait here for my lover."

He raised his head slowly, tilting it to the side as if mocking her. "They were going to seal you, Sorceress, you are not safe here."

Rinoa scoffed as she kept her gaze steady and hard. "They wouldn't. Not without—"

The man tossed a stack of papers to her feet. "According to this, they already have your permission."

Her ears perked up and she lifted the papers into her lap, scanning over the meaningless and repetitive words until she came across a scribbled excuse for her signature. "But I…" Then her heart skipped a beat when she saw Squall's signature as the witness.

"He betrayed you, Sorceress. He was going to hand you over like a worthless animal."

Rinoa threw the papers away from her as if they were covered with disease. "No! No, he wouldn't betray me, he loves me!"

Out of the man's throat came a harsh scoff. "Loves you enough to commit a crime of forgery? Sign _your _life away because it is for your own 'good?' Loves you enough that he would do anything to make you to submit to weakness, to become their prey?"

Her blood turned cold momentarily at his last words, echoing the very thought she had not too long before. "You're..you're lying to me! He wouldn't do this to me. He wouldn't!" Her breathing quickened as she tried to focus, but the voices were rising up again. _He already told you he wanted you sealed. Face it, he __**betrayed us.**__ Betrayed you he betrayed you.__** You can't even trust your own lover.**_Screaming, she grasped her head and tried to silence herself.

Soon, voices she knew were not inside her head sounded off outside the broken walls. She glanced up to see the hospital officials and security racing towards them. The man glanced at them behind his shoulder, his body language appearing almost nonchalant.

"Make your choice," he said. "Come with me and I will take you to Norg. He will release you and your sisters from the poison."

_He works with Norg? Why should I trust him...he's been helping him __**kill me!**_

"Or stay here and become prey to the humans."

_Prey? __**Prey? **__I'm not the prey._ Before she could answer the humans pulled out weapons and aimed.

"Stop him!" one cried.

"Contain the Sorceress!"

"She must be sealed! It's a direct order from the Commander!"

A fire rose within her breast and blazed throughout her veins. _He betrayed you he betrayed you he betrayed __**me.**_ _But he loves me__** KILLTHEM!**_ Rinoa walked towards the wall, her powers crackling around her body like streams of electricity. As she reached the hole, the crackling shocks around her disintegrated the glass, and it rained down to the ground as dust.

"Hurry!" one of the men standing before her shouted, and she seethed at the sight of the SeeD uniform. He fingered the trigger, aiming for her leg to simply halt her, but he was stopped when the man stepped in his way, gripping his wrist and forcing him to his knees.

Odine's jaw dropped as he saw Rinoa, eyes blazing, and raw power sizzling around her like a veil of smoke. He jerked his eyes towards the men who pulled their triggers, only to see their tranquilizer darts be stopped in midair, dangling before her as if on strings.

To taunt them she flicked a few aside.

Odine waved his arms frantically. "Cease fire—_Cease fire!!!_" he shouted. "Fall back! Evacuate everyone now!!"

But his orders reached only a few ears, for the hooded man snapped the neck of the SeeD he held in his grasp, and sliced open the bellies of a few securities. The survivors threw down their guns and retreated, obeying Odine in getting everyone else to safety.

Quistis pushed herself up to her elbows, blood streaming over her eyebrow in a thin red ribbon and a shrill, deafening pitch in her right ear. She gasped when she saw Rinoa, standing not too far from her. "R…Rinoa!" she managed to spurt out, panicking when she could hardly hear her own voice over the high squeall inside her ears.

A blade came down around her throat and a fist painfully gripped the back of her head. "What shall we do with this one?" a thick voice bellowed above her, just outside her line of vision. Quistis choked on her own spit, moving her eyes toward Rinoa slowly.

Rinoa paused and glanced over her shoulder. The look in her eyes reminded Quistis of a wolf staring at a hurt rabbit after it had already fed, debating whether or not it was worth the time. Then she looked up to the man with the grip. "Leave her," was all she said and she simply turned away.

The man released her and then he welcomed her with a sharp blow, knocking her out cold.

**xXx**

Squall's blood froze over when he and the others reached the hospital. The survivors were panned out in the parking lot, receiving the medical attentions they needed.

Irvine's jaw hung open as he scanned the crowd, hardly noticing when Selphie gripped his hand. "What…happened here?" he breathed.

"Quistis Trepe?" Zell asked of one of the medical practitioners.

The woman skimmed down a list and waved her pen in a direction. "She was right next to one the explosions but managed to dodge it in time. Right now the only severe injuries are temporary deafness in her right ear and she's had a mild traumatic brain injury."

Zell thanked her and motioned for them to follow him as he raced towards where the woman directed. They found her sitting down, her head leaned back as a doctor checked her eyes. She was swaying very slightly from side to side, and a nurse kept her steady from behind.

Squall raced up and tapped the doctor on the shoulder. "How is she?"

The doctor pulled back and tucked his little flashlight into his pocket. "She's had a minor concussion due to a blow on the back of her head. The deafness in her right ear should go away but I can't give a guaranteed answer when." He cleared his throat and glanced at her. "We've treated her cuts, and her wrist is sprained but…" He turned and looked Squall squarely in the eye. "She's very lucky. Witnesses say she dodged at the last minute, a matter of seconds less and…well, she wouldn't be as pretty."

"Thank you," Selphie said, gesturing for them to leave as she took hold of Quistis' hands. "How are you feeling?" she asked, making sure to speak towards her left ear.

Quistis shook her head, her uninjured hand massaging a temple. "I can't…what happened? Was I in an accident?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Irvine asked.

She swallowed and glanced around, frowning as she tried to clear her head. "The hospital…it was attacked. And I…" She growled in frustration, stamping her foot and biting her lip. _Why can't I __**remember??**_ "I…I tried to get her out!"

Squall jumped. "Is she still in there?" he demanded, turning away as he started to make his way into the hospital.

Irvine latched onto his bicep and pulled. "Let her finish man," he said. "I somehow doubt Rinoa's hurt."

"Yes! She's gone!" Quistis shouted, sitting up a bit straighter. "She warned me, she saw the missile coming! Then I…then I…" She turned away, inwardly swearing. "Someone," she whispered. "Someone took her."

"Who?"

"I…I didn't see his face. He was behind me…and then…" She closed her eyes. "…I don't remember!"

Squall swore and turned away, covering his mouth with his glove to keep in the more obscenities that wanted to fall out.

"Squall I am so sorry," Quistis breathed, her voice ragged as she tried not to sob. Protectively she held her sprained wrist in her lap as she felt him stand over her.

"I'm…I'm not mad at you," he told her, placing his palms over her shoulders and giving her an awkward, supportive shake. He sighed and pulled back, turning away from her as he paced restlessly.

Odine waddled over, his face emotionally and physically drained. "Commander," he said. "I know nothing I can say will make this situation any easier…but I have recovered the files you asked for." Almost sheepishly he handed them over.

"Thanks," he muttered. He opened up the folder and scanned the first file. "Zell," he called, neatly removing the file. "You are to question this…Calen, Aria." As the file rested in Zell's hands, Squall picked up the next one. "Irvine, you take Hemingway, Marlon." When Irvine dutifully took the file from his grip, Squall fingered the last one. His eyes quickly skimmed over the page and he stopped, holding out his hand for the two men who started to leave. "Wait," he muttered, his blood heating at the image that was printed on the sheet, the image of the man with glaring green eyes. "Fuck," was all he could growl as he slapped the file onto the ground.

The folder lay open, for everyone to see. And when they did they all froze in their spots, swearing heavily beneath their breaths.

Beneath the photograph it read, clear as day—_Almasy, Seifer._


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Hello readers! School is kicking my ass but I finally got to finish this chapter for you guys =) Hope you guys like and let me know what you think.**

It had only been a few minutes since the escape from the hospital, and Rinoa would not take her eyes off the man that wove her through the forest to a dour looking vehicle hidden behind two large trees. He yanked open the door and motioned for her to get in. "Hurry!" he hissed. "They won't wait too long to start looking for you!"

She glanced behind her, her eyes arcing across the treetops. When the man placed his hand on her shoulder she gripped it tightly and twisted, forcing him to his knees. "Tell me who you are," she growled.

"There's no time!" he managed to say before crying out in pain when she twisted further. "Get in the car and I'll tell you everything!"

"You've helped Norg in nearly killing me, why should I trust you now?"

The hood fell back slightly, revealing a striking green eye. "You'll just have to trust me. I guarantee you will be safer with me than with them. Go back there if you don't believe me."

Rinoa released him and entered the car, searched it quickly, and pulled out a simple revolver that was settled between the center console and passenger chair. She pulled it apart slightly, checking the bullets, and aimed it at his face when he came around to her side of the car. "Remove the hood and any weapons you have on you," she said.

"Rinoa…"

"Don't fucking say my name like you know me!!" she screamed.

"I do know you. We were close once. Don't you remember? I'm helping you because I cared about you then and I care about you now." With an aggravated sigh he stepped back from the car and yanked the hooded cloak off and over his face.

At the sight of his revealed face, the scar over the bridge of his nose, that same arrogant smile…Rinoa's grip on the gun faltered, and she scowled. "You," she whispered. Then she turned the gun around and whipped the butt of the gun over his head. "First you leave me, then offer me to Adel, then you try to _kill_ me? How can you fucking say you 'care about me'?"

He pressed his palm against his forehead and hissed, soon turning to her and laughing. "I didn't think it was going to kill you. And here you are, alive I might add."

"My sisters," she spat. "My daughters, my _blood,_ you helped kill them!"

Seifer shook his head and removed his hand, clicking his tongue when he saw the spot of blood smeared over the palm. "We didn't know it would affect all of you. After all, there can only be one sorceress at a time, how were we supposed to know the candidates would be infected as well?"

"And that's supposed to make me trust you," Rinoa snarled. "That's supposed to make me go with you? That worthless excuse?"

"I can bring you to Norg," he said, his voice thickening as he grew annoyed. "He will stop the poison from spreading, and therefore you and your children will be out of harms way—but _only_ if you come with me now." He waited in silence, watching her tiny movements of her wrist. Quickly he became impatient and grabbed the gun, aiming for his chest. "I don't have all day. Either come with me now or hurry up and kill me if you don't trust me."

Rinoa reeled back her hand, keeping her eyes level with his. "You should know I plan to kill him the moment I see him."

Seifer smiled and rounded the car, settling into his seat as he started the engine. "You should know I would love to see that happen."

**xXx**

"You actually _allowed_ Seifer anywhere near Rinoa?" Zell cried, his mouth dropped open wider than anyone ever thought possible. "How…_why_ would you do that?"

Odine turned his head slowly towards him. "During the entire process he made no personal reference or notion towards her, he was completely professional in helping her control herself. Why should I have fired him simply because they had a history? Watching him work with her, I never would have known, it was like he never knew her."

Selphie groaned and massaged the back of her neck, soon taken over by Irvine's helping fingers. "What I don't understand is what and _how_ Seifer helped her. I mean, I can't really say I ever would have thought him to be smart enough to help a sorceress control themselves."

While the four of them tossed around their opinions and arguments, Squall kept his head lowered upon the scratchy sheet that was draped over Quistis and her cot. Inwardly he groaned, already starting to tune out the voices of his comrades. Atop his hand were Quistis' fingers, and along the back of his hand he had deep crescents formed by her gripping nails when she writhed from the thick needle that held a sedative.

Thousands of thoughts ran through his head. Normally it was a feeling he was quite used to, but unlike before, now he couldn't pinpoint one thought and make sense of it. Instead, all the thoughts remained out of his reach, racing and completely blurred. He had no idea what to think, about the situation, about what to do next, about anything. The woman he loved had been driven mad by the poison that flowed through her bitter veins, and was now in the company of his long-lived rival…

Unable to silence the thoughts in his head, he stood to his feet and did the only thing he could possibly think of that would calm him down. Ignoring the questions from his comrades, Squall walked off to be alone.

**xXx**

Norg waved his giant hands before Rinoa, allowing her entrance into his 'throne.' His lips somewhat formed a disgusting smile as she stood before him, her eyes blazing red. "Great Sorceress Rinoa," he gurgled. "A pleasure to see you at your peak."

She offered him the tiniest smile she could muster, her eyes tightening as she spoke. "Your accomplice has brought me here as you wished."

Norg laughed, his giant belly shaking wildly. "Accomplice?" he spat out. "Is that what he's calling himself now? He is my servant, dear Sorceress, if even that much."

Rinoa didn't have to glance behind her to see the vehement look stretched across Seifer's face, she could feel it burning across her skin, the anger and hatred he possessed towards the creature before them.

"I saved his life years ago," Norg was saying. "After breaking free from my prison I found him, struggling with the battle between life and death. Upon seeing his face, I recognized him as one of the bastard children from the Balamb Garden, one of the slaves to Kramer and his damned wife. I remembered his hatred towards the current Commander Squall, and nursed him back to health for the sole purpose of using him in my plot of revenge. Since that day, he has been in my debt and has since vowed to serve me."

It was then that Rinoa turned to look at Seifer. Though she didn't know him for very long before her disappearance from Balamb, she never took him for someone to take orders. Hell, he never passed his SeeD exam simply because of that one factor. He was staring off to his right, his fists clenched and jaw set tightly as if to hold in a shout of anger. His look spoke every truth within Norg's words. It made him seem…almost…pathetic in her eyes. The great Seifer who took shit from no one and had a pride that surpassed Squall's, broken in like a weary dog. She turned away from him to focus back on Norg. "I don't care for your explanation in his working for you," she snarled. "You wanted me here and here I am, and while I'm here I might as well as a favor of you."

"Very well," Norg grumbled, waving his giant hand once more. "Tell me your favor."

"Give me Hyne's heart."

Norg's throat vibrated as he chuckled. "What will you do with the heart of your mother?"

"Personal reasons," she said. "I can't say I have much trust while it's in your possession. Give me her heart and I will do as you ask."

Norg thoughtfully stroked what Rinoa could only guess was his chin. After a few more moments of his pondering, he finally lowered his hand to the arm of the chair. "You may have your mother's heart," he at last told her. He turned over towards one of the people in uniforms to his right and nodded slightly.

Obediently the young man, probably no older than eighteen Rinoa guessed, ran off to retrieve the heart.

Norg cleared his thick throat and stood from his chair. "While we wait for his return, I have a surprise for you, dear Sorceress."

She inwardly cringed at his constant insistence of calling her 'dear' but allowed him to lead her away. It took all her inner strength not to heave at his touch on the small of her back.

"This is something we have been working on for about…oh I'd say five years," he was saying, leading her into a small chamber that smelled like a hospital.

Rinoa scrunched her nose but followed him to a tiny bed tucked into the corner of the room. She lowered her eyes to the bundled up figure and frowned. Almost instinctively she reached for the blanket that covered the figure's face.

"Master," a voice from behind called, and Rinoa turned to see the same whelp that had run off to do Norg's bidding.

He had retrieved the heart, delicately nestled in an intricately detailed crystal orb. The young man placed the container in Norg's hand and quickly receded. Norg chuckled and gestured for Rinoa to follow him outside of the chamber. "I will give you Hyne's heart, but you must promise to help me fulfill in my getting revenge on Squall Leonhart. He has hurt us all, you included, and with your aid he will be no match for us. What do you say Sorceress Rinoa? Will you join us to fight against the very man who betrayed you?"

Rinoa glanced behind her quickly to the tiny huddle on the bed, but followed Norg back into the main room. When he settled back into his chair of a throne, she glared at him vacantly, her balance perfectly still, her stature screaming power as she stood proud and tall like the goddess of legend. "Yes," she finally answered.

Rinoa watched as Norg removed the heart from the crystal, her chest rising with a breath as she noticed the blackened veins that branches across the ventricles, the pulmonary veins and arteries pumping and pulsing slowly, liquid dripping from the open valves. She swallowed, her eyes fixated on Norg's movements as he transferred the heart from one hand to the other, the crystal rolling from his lap and crashing to the ground. The same liquid that pulsed through the heart spread across the ground, and Rinoa arched her lip in a scowl at the sight of arsenic bubbles rising from it.

Norg cleared his throat and held out Hyne's heart to her. "The poison will no longer spread its course."

Rinoa snatched the heart from his hands and held it protectively in her palms. Soothingly she ran a finger over the aorta, and down the right atrium. She closed her eyes as she breathed lowly. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I hadn't meant for the poison to affect the other women," Norg said. "I thought that since it was indeed Hyne's heart, that it would only affect you directly since you are the only sorceress of this time. For that, I am sorry."

Rinoa continued holding the heart in the palm of her right hand, holding it upwards level to her eyes. No expression crossed over her features as she stared into the heart that slightly pumped, tiny black veins branching out across the surface, much like her own breast. "You're sorry," she repeated, her lips softly moving as the words rolled out. Slowly she moved only her eyes to him. "Not yet," came her whisper.

Norg cocked his head to the side slightly, unsure if he had heard her or not. "Excuse me?" he grumbled.

Quickly Rinoa shot out her left hand, claws poised and ready, tearing through the fabric of his robes, stabbing through the slimly rubber that was his skin. While his jaw dropped and he uttered a groan of pain, Rinoa lurched her talons deeper, twisting and writhing, breaking through the muscle and bone.

The men and women in uniforms jerked in shock at the sight, some hardly even able to withstand the gruesome view of Norg's blood spurting from his skin, flying across Rinoa's body, dribbling to the ground in thick black and green rivers. Few managed to shove the vision aside and lunged towards her, only to become face to face with Seifer's menacing glare and gunblade.

Finally, Rinoa's nails claimed her treasure, and the corner of her lips turned up wickedly. With a throaty laugh she pulled, yanking the creature's heart from their tubes of life, bringing it out into the open away from his body. Rinoa clutched Norg's heart in her hand, her red eyes glowing almost beautifully as she stared down at the slowly beating thing. She gave Norg one last smile before turning away. "Now," she murmured. "You are sorry."

With a laugh that sent chills through the room, she turned to face Norg's followers, her dainty fingers still clutching his heart. She watched as Seifer kept his ground, daring any of them to step forward against him. Out of the corner of her eyes she watched Norg's still spurting body collapse into itself, deflating into his proud throne created by his greed into a lumpy puddle of flesh.

The soldier that had obediently retrieved Hyne's heart stared at her, his mouth drying at the sight of the Sorceress. As she stood with two hearts in her possession and covered in black and green blood, she looked like a devilish angel. Despite the rage inside he held for her killing his master, he couldn't help but succumb to the eerie beauty that emanated from her presence.

With the blood streaked across her face like war paint and her wild black hair she looked like a warrior. With her soft curves and ghostly smile she looked nearly angelic. Those standing before her no longer knew what to think or expect of her, or the sinister man guarding her that made it clear what he would do if they opposed.

She looked down at Norg's heart in her palm as if it were a simple toy. And like a child that quickly grew tired of the toy, she dropped it to the ground with a delicate flick of her wrist. Then in a quick movement she stomped down her bare foot, crushing his heart, blood and tissue oozing out from beneath.

A young woman turned away, covering her mouth to keep the vomit from exploding from her mouth.

Rinoa's lips turned up slightly at her reaction, and she cradled Hyne's heart against her breast. When the uproar of Norg's murder had calmed, she paced back in forth before the soldiers that once belonged to him. Elegantly she paused, pivoting on her heel to look over the faces of the uniforms. "As many of you know, your once master has sadly passed away. I will take his place. Any objections?" She arched a brow as she scanned over the scared and shaking faces. "Good. Now, first order of business…" She walked towards Norg's carcass and shoved him off the throne, seating herself. "We go back to Balamb Hospital and take back the bodies of the women and young girls who died. All of the bodies have been sent to Odine for him to study, which makes this task much easier for us." (**A/N: And for me! ^_^**)

A young man raised a finger and took a cautious step forward. "Could I possibly ask why?" he managed to get out.

Rinoa smiled a smile that came so easily it nearly froze him in place. "There's going to be a war," she said solidly. "You still want your revenge against SeeD don't you? In order for victory to be on our side we need the aide from my sisters—_all_ of them."

"But they've passed on," a girl cried. "How's that going to help us?"

"You all are going to help me," Rinoa whispered. "Just as you had given your lives, energy, and time to Norg, doing the same to me will help us all."

Seifer knelt before her. "When do we begin this mission?"

Rinoa looked down at him briefly before turning her eyes back onto the crowd. "Tomorrow. I'm tired and in desperate need of a bath." She glanced to her garments that she hadn't changed out of since the day prior. "And new clothes." With both hands she rubbed at her face, smearing the blood away from her eyes. "Whoever finds me something new to wear will get a treat. Dismissed."

At the wave of her hand they dispersed cautiously, and Seifer stood to his feet and approached her. "I've never seen this side of you," he said.

She didn't avert her attention from Hyne's heart that she held in her lap like a newborn kitten. "It's been a while," she told him. "I've changed."

"I know. I was there."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Instead of answering her he descended back to his knee, bowing respectively to her. "Rinoa, I give you my word I'll protect you till the day I die. I'll be a much better serving Knight than that worthless excuse who tried to seal you."

"You seem to be going through a lot of trouble to hurt a 'worthless excuse,' as you so call it," she snapped. "What makes you better than him? After all, he merely tried to seal me while you, on the other hand, almost _killed_ me."

He swallowed bitterly, hoping she wasn't in the mood to return the favor. After seeing what she was capable of he wanted to remain on her good side. _A peace offering,_ he thought. "Would it make you feel better if I gave you something you once thought was lost?"

Rinoa lifted her upper lip in a snarl. "What could you possibly give me?"

With a dark smile he rose to his feet. "Come with me and I'll show you," he said. Trying not to laugh at the speculating glare she sent his way, he held out his arm gallantly. Almost reluctantly she took his offered arm, still cradling the heart against her. "I'll find you a container to put that in," he said, speaking as if it were a flower she wanted to preserve, and he lead her back down to the chamber Norg had previously taken her to.


	29. Chapter 29

The breeze that drifted past Squall offered no comfort from the dry heat that enveloped Balamb. Virtually peeling off his leather gloves and slapping them to the ground, he sat back and glared at the sun just beginning to be consumed by night. The thoughts that had haunted him only mere minutes prior soon formed into belittling questions. _What if I hadn't forced her to be sealed? What if I hadn't left? Why didn't I ask for the files when I suspected them earlier?_

Heavy footsteps caught his attention and he glanced up to see Zell rounding the corner and situating himself to sit. "How's it going?" he asked, his voice stripped from the joyful playfulness he always carried. Now, as he sat, he sounded firm, mature, hardly like what Squall was used to. He held up a red and white box and shook it lightly. "Figured you needed these."

Squall nodded and gratefully took the cigarette package from Zell's fingers. "Thanks." As he lit up his eyes couldn't stray from the sky that was now fully navy black, the stars dotted along like crystals.

Zell stretched his legs out, kicking against the metal rods that served as a railing for the wheelchair access ramp. "Time's is tough," he muttered.

A rough grunt from Squall's throat came in reply. "I don't know what to do," he said, his voice lower than normal that Zell had to relay his sentence to actually understand. "I've never had an answer for everything, but this time…I have no fucking clue what to do."

"That's life for you, always throwing random punches in your gut. Even though you don't know the next move, you have to stand your ground." Zell leaned his head back and stared up into the sky. A gleaming green streak of light trickled down, burning and then vanishing almost instantly. Zell looked over to see Squall's eyes still locked in where the falling star had appeared. "You just have to remember one thing; it's the poison, man. Not her."

**xXx**

Rinoa woke with a start, shooting up to a sitting position as her breasts frantically rose and fell with gaping breaths. She wiped the satiny film of sweat that form above her brows with the back of her hand. The dream that invaded her mind disturbed her, and she cursed for not remembering why it had. Remnants of the dream flittered within her skull, she saw the hollow eyes of her sisters, and leather-clad fists drenched in blood.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, kicking away the thin sheet that managed to glue itself to her moist skin. Fanning herself with her nails, she made her way to the window. Inwardly she laughed at the area she was in. Norg, being the greedy blood-sucker he was, had hidden himself in an overly garish mansion. It wasn't far from the Shumi village, hidden inside the forest and away from prying eyes. And now, after his untimely death, she moved into his room, tearing down all remnants of him to make it her own despite knowing she wouldn't stay long. She glanced outside the window to the large boat Seifer had brought her in. Several of the soldiers were scattering about, packing weapons and implements for their trip back to Balamb, their only light the shower from the moon.

Her eyes lifted up to see a flaring streak of bright green, and she tilted her head as she watched it fall from her view. Impassively she lowered her eyes to her bare fingers. There had been a ring on that one finger, and she vaguely recalled the laughter that formed when the ring slipped off, for it had not yet been sized, and instead it lay nestled safely in the box upon a dresser, awaiting. He had promised it would fit her finger when this was over.

But it wasn't going to be over. Instead of being there for her he condoned to wanting her sealed, caged, trapped, and helpless like a pathetic wounded animal. How could he not realize how wrong that was?_ He just needs to see my side of things…__**You're so fucking stupid. How could he possibly see your point of view?**__ He loves me__**Obviously not…**_

A tapping at her door sliced through her thoughts. Groaning, she turned away from the window. "Who is it?"

"It's me."

She clicked her tongue in distaste yet allowed him entrance. With a glare she crossed her arms as Seifer let himself in and casually sit onto her bed. "What is it?"

"I've come to tell you that the preparations are ready, the boat is packed and we can leave when first thing in the morning."

_You came to tell me _that?_ I could tell that much just by looking out the window._ She arched a brow. "Is that all?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" she snapped.

He sighed and ran his fingers over his short hair. Without looking up from the ground he spoke, "I wanted you to know I never meant to hurt you. I didn't think it would affect you much."

"You just wanted to hurt him," she scowled, turning away to look back through the window. "Once again you only think of what would benefit you, regardless in the aftermath of everyone else."

Seifer rose to his feet and started towards the door, only to pause and speak to her over his shoulder. "What is it you're planning for tomorrow? Are you really giving them the war they want?"

Rinoa didn't answer, and instead lifted her eyes to gaze upon the glittering stars.

"We'll leave at dawn," he said, nearly sighing in defeat, and securely locked the door.

**xXx**

He could feel her hands languidly stroking through his hair, could feel her soft lips pressing against his neck. As he tried to lower his head, to see her, she tugged, forcing his head to fall back. Around his waist wrapped a leg, tightening, enclosing. Along the length of his body he felt her, laying over him as she now poked out a pink little tongue, trailing over the throbbing vein beneath his flesh.

As if slaves to the music, his hands obediently rose, stroking her sides, the thick fabric of his gloves sliding effortlessly. His hands slid higher, slipping beneath the thick layers of her hair, and up to the base of her neck.

Out of her mouth came a tiny giggle, and her lips roamed over the curve of his jaw line, her tongue flicking over his bottom lip. Her thighs spread wider, enveloping his hips and she bent her legs back, her feet playfully dancing in rotating circles.

"What are you doing to me?" he whispered.

"Nothing yet," came her breathy response. She pulled back slightly, her black hair softly covering her face, only her lips and chin revealed in a tiny smirk. She reached behind her, grasping his hands in uncanny accuracy as she pulled them to her breasts, her fingers laced over his as he cupped and kneaded.

While he lay mesmerized, his fingers moving as if on their own accord, he saw out of the back of his mind her hands moving lower, resting over his chest. With those talons of nails she lightly tore open his shirt, snaking her hands inside to caress the smooth plane of his chest.

"Do you love me?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you doing this to me?"

His hands were around her throat now, squeezing roughly with his thumbs nestled inside the hollow of her neck. Her claws had penetrated into his flesh, sinking in and tearing through. He was killing her, suffocating the life from her while she dug her nails to yank out his heart.

He released his grip. She wanted him dead. And he was willing to lay there and let her take the very last breath from him, bleed for her every last drop of his soul.

**xXx**

Squall's eyes snapped open, and were welcomed by the harsh red glow of his alarm clock. It was fuzzy to read, but he managed to tell it was just barely seven am. Slowly he pulled himself up, groaning, and pulled at the drawstring on his sweatpants. Even though in his dream he was on the verge of killing Rinoa, the prior scenes still managed to stimulate that one part of him. He pulled on clean pants and tugged on a new shirt.

He made his way to the sliding glass door, a cigarette already dangling from his chapped lips. A thick sigh escaped him as he yanked aside the curtain. He leaned his forehead against the glass, his eyes narrowing at the sun that had already raised, its beams shining down hotly onto the earth.

It looked like it was going to be such a beautiful day…and his mind was as dark and tumultuous as the origin of his name.

He knew.

Deep down, he knew.

He could never kill her.

**xXx**

Odine shuffled around, his fingers scurrying through the papers he held in his arms. He nodded a few 'good mornings' to the hospital crew, and quickly made his way to the coffee pot. "Is it ready?"

"Just made," one of the young doctors smiled, handing him an empty cup. "So," he began as he started pouring. "What's on the agenda today?"

"Well…" he was interrupted by a nurse poking her head through the doorway.

"Doctor Odine, there's a Squall Leonhart on line one for you. He says it's urgent."

"Of course." He set down his cup and hastily made way to the nearest phone. "Yes, Squall, what is it? Is everything alright?"

"I need you to evacuate everyone."

"What?"

He grumbled within his throat. "Look, it's not a state of emergency, but it's probably best if you relocate all the patients to another hospital. If there's another attack we don't need them in _another_ crossfire."

Odine loosened his shoulders in relief. _Everything _in Squall's monotonous tone sounded like a state of emergency. "So just the patients first then. I can call Galbadia and see if they've any extra space. We'll move the sorceresses and Hyne somewhere else."

"Do it as soon as possible."

"Of course—" Odine heard a loud crash, like a door being forced open and slapping against the wall. He turned and saw everyone glancing around, wondering what that noise was. "Commander…" he began, taking a few steps towards the noise. He glanced down behind the counter of the receptionist, his eyes widening at the security monitors. He saw several, possibly fifty he guessed, masked and uniformed people flooding through the hallways.

A stifled gasp came from behind him.

"Odine what's going on?!" Squall shouted.

The doctor slowly turned on reflex, knowing it wasn't the smartest thing. He turned to see Rinoa with her palm over the mouth of one of the nurses, her red lips up in a smile as the nurse shivered in fear. "Hello doctor," Rinoa chirped.

Squall felt every hair along his body rise at the sound of her silken voice in the background. "Shit!" he hissed and tossed the phone onto his bed as he grabbed his gunblade and took off for his car.

"Rinoa…?" Odine breathed.

She smiled even more, keeping her grip upon the nurse as she stepped closer to the doctor. "My sisters, where are they kept?"

He only stood frozen, unsure of what to do or say. The deafening beeping tone of the phone blared in his ears.

Rinoa's smile faded, and she gestured behind her with a hand. "If you don't cooperate…"

Odine looked up too late to see the gleaming flash of Seifer's blade.

**xXx**

By the time Squall violently pulled into the parking lot he realized he stupidly left his phone at the apartment. He jerked his head into every direction, scanning the premises for any enemy. When he saw none he cautiously ran his way around the hospital, looking for their point of entry. The door was wide open, the panels dented and cracked. Wedged halfway into the door was a now mangled huge tank-like vehicle, the front end completely smashed from its use of a battering ram.

Squall poked his head through, eyes darting to either side of the area. _Why didn't she just use her powers?_ He slipped in easily through the makeshift entry and hastily ran towards the room Quistis was held in. _First things first._

**xXx**

"He's here," Seifer called out from his perch at the security monitors.

Rinoa didn't glance his way, and instead dragged Odine behind her towards the west wing where the bodies of the sorceresses were held. "Where is Hyne's body?" she demanded of the bleeding older man.

Odine coughed, blood bubbling at his lips. "S—She…"

"Is she where the others are?"

"Y—Yes!"

Rinoa smiled and released him. "Carry him," she ordered Seifer, who dutifully scooped up the doctor around the shoulders. When they reached the designated wing Rinoa pushed open the doors. She turned around to face the cadets who filled in behind her. "You three," she said, pointing her finger to three random faces. "Go back to the ship. We'll be leaving soon. Seifer, try to get Odine to unlock the chamber Hyne is held. The rest of you, follow me."

**xXx**

Squall had barely a moment to breathe out a sigh of relief when he found Quistis unharmed before he pulled her cell phone from her purse. He dialed Selphie first, knowing her speech and dialing capabilities were far faster than his. "Alert the others and Caraway. Rinoa's back and seems to have brought a fleet. Odine might be in danger."

**xXx**

Rinoa cradled Edea's face between her palms. Lovingly she leaned in, placing her forehead against Edea's as she breathed in and out. To the side of her the young woman was fidgeting restlessly.

"Ok," she said to the sorceress. "We found her, so let's take her and go. The alarm's about to—"

She was interrupted by the loud, shrill beep that was the alarm.

"Shit!" She quickly started to pull away the covers, looping her arm around Edea's waist to hoist her up.

Rinoa held up her arms. "Everyone remain calm," she bellowed, her voice loud and thick to be heard over their fright. "Each one hold a sorceress and we'll be out of here shortly."

"But we have to move _now,_" a young man argued.

Rinoa was grinning, her sharp teeth slightly indenting into her lower lip. Within a blink Rinoa's hand slammed upon the face of the girl beside her. Before anyone could react she held out her other hand, power shooting from her fingertips to penetrate into the open mouths of the young would be soldiers.

All screams were silenced, the glowing power seeping in through their bodies, sucking the life from them. Rinoa threw her head back, the veins within her throat throbbing at the great power that swarmed through her. When she opened her eyes they shone bright gold, her mouth parted in a howl.

**xXx**

Squall paused when he heard Rinoa's shrieks. _Shit…_ He began to move forward but was stopped by the three Rinoa had sent out earlier. Fury rose within him as he lunged forward at them. "Where is she?!"

One male dodged to the side from Squall's blade, and a girl took the opportunity to leap onto Squall's back, her wrists locking together around his throat to block air. Squall released one hand from his gunblade and reached behind, his fist latching onto the back of the girl's jacket. She let out a surprised scream when he all but tore her off of him, sending her to the floor.

The second male made the mistake of screaming out a war cry as he slashed a fist, only to be retaliated with Squall turning his gunblade, so his fist came in contact with the flat end of the blade, shattering his knuckles.

Squall arched a brow at the three faces; he remembered them when they came to him in hopes of becoming a part of Balamb Garden. "And you three wonder why I reject you?" he snarled.

**xXx**

"You do not know the code…" Odine managed to gasp out, his fist clutching the front of his shirt as he tried to breathe. He reeled back as another hacking cough escaped him, and he wiped the blood from his lips. He tried not to breathe so deeply in fear of agitating the gash Seifer had widened, but his lungs desperately begged. "Your father and I are the…only one's who know."

Rinoa glared over her shoulder to the doctor that lay in a heap across the tile. Quickly her eyes glanced around to find the lock. When she did, she skimmed her talons across the buttons. She wavered slightly, Seifer's arms quickly catching her before she fell. With a grunt she shoved him away. "Behind this door is my mother among mothers, my ancestor, my blood. I_ will_ have her." She looked over to the doctor, laughing while she typed, not even looking at the keyboard.

Odine's breath nearly stopped when the doors pulled back, allowing Rinoa to walk through.

"He's still my father, doctor," Rinoa told him, walking backwards with uncanny accuracy through the opening. "I know him well." She held up her claws and motioned for Seifer, and he didn't even glance at the doctor he had injured before following her, the doors closing tightly behind them.

**xXx**

The uninjured male glanced around nervously after Squall disposed of his two comrades. He looked over and winced at the one who broke his hand, the sharp jagged bones peeking out through the blood along the knuckles. The girl was screaming in pain, her collar bone snapped from her fall to the ground.

A metallic tapping sound echoed within his skull. His breath was ragged as he slowly looked up, his hands jerking and shaking in fear. Squall was standing a mere few yards from him, yet to the younger man it was much too close. The tapping of metal that resounded in his ears that frightened him so much was the sound of Squall's gunblade, tapping rhythmically against the thick metal chain looped around his neck. Beneath the tight gray shirt the younger man could see thick and brawny muscles, relaxed yet ready spring into an attack swing.

The Commander made no other movement, his icy eyes glaring straight into the other man. Even with the brown strands hanging over, some feathering over his eyes, the glare pounded deep within his soul.

With a quick dart, the young man tugged at his injured comrades and made his escape. The two slowly stood to their feet, slow to ease the pain to make sure Squall wouldn't follow.

He watched the three run for their lives, like cowardly dogs with tails between their legs. He clicked his tongue at the sight and turned away to head towards the west wing.

When he reached the hallway that led to the sorceress quarters, he paused when he nearly slipped along a thin sheet of blood. "Dammit," he muttered, moving his view along the path, swearing even more when he noticed it began to head down the perpendicular corridor that led to Hyne. There were only three people with the knowledge of her quarters: him, Caraway, and Odine. With the sight of blood, not enough to show Odine was killed but enough to show foul play, Squall knew Rinoa was trying to make him talk.

He found Odine leaning against the closed doors, his hand drenched with blood as he struggled to breathe. The doctor's eyes lit up briefly when he saw the Commander approach him, but it was interrupted with another wrenching cough.

Squall couldn't believe the woman he had loved—the woman he _still_ loved despite everything—had done such horrible things to the man who tried to help her. Instead of thanking him for his efforts, she had settled to killing him without a second thought. "What has she done to you?" he breathed, lowering himself to kneel before him.

Odine shook his head and reached out a bloody hand to grip Squall's shirtfront. "It wasn't her," he gasped. "It was _him_." He tightened his grip before Squall could stand up in rage. "She's inside, and he came out just before you got here. She wants Hyne's body."

Squall released himself and frantically entered codes into the computer. "What's the access code?" he demanded.

Odine coughed up more blood and clutched his chest. "I…don't have much time…"

Squall stared at him wide eyed. "No!" He knelt beside the doctor, redressing his wounds. "Stay awake," he demanded. "You're fucking stronger than this; I need you to stay awake." His words died within the walls of his throat as he saw the gash in Odine's chest had opened wider, his skin curling around the lacerations.

Odine gave him a grim smile. "Squall…you know what you must do. She'll kill everyone."

"I…I can stop her."

Odine softly placed his hand over Squall's, blood smearing across the torn black leather gloves. "She loves you…she's still in there somewhere. Find her. Save her."

Squall squeezed his eyes tight and let out a ragged breath. "The password…Odine. Please."

"Yes…" Odine nodded and leaned his head back against the steel wall. "It's…Julia…" With a final breath he sighed and smiled for the last time.

Squall opened his eyes and saw Odine's eyes wide open, the white of them filled with swirling red lines from the cuts along his forehead. His aged hand slipped off of Squall's and fell to the floor lifelessly. Squall breathed and reached up his fingers, gently closing the doctor's eyes. Cursing, he rose to his feet and slammed the password into the computer.

"ACCESS GRANTED" announced the computer robotically. Immediately the steel doors slid open, unfolding as fog seeped through, filling the room. As Squall made his way through the doors, gunblade glued to his fist, he realized it was not fog—but instead smoke. "Rinoa!" he shouted, covering his nose and mouth. "Rinoa get the fuck over here!"

Squall coughed and carefully slithered between the knocked over counters. His foot smacked a body and he stared down at the lab assistant who lay on his back, eyes gaping at the ceiling with a hole in his throat. "How many lives will you sacrifice?!" Coughing slightly, Squall waved his hand in the air to separate the smoke.

Squall stopped before the container that held Hyne. Rinoa was sprawled across the glass top, her fingers rapping along the smooth surface as she hummed. "She's like the princess," she murmured. "Awaiting for a kiss from her true love…waiting to reawaken and surface her true powers." Slowly she lifted her head and grinned. "My love," she whispered, pulling herself from the glass and practically floated down the steps to cascade into his arms.

He stopped, his grip on the handle slightly loosening. "What are you doing?" Rinoa move her hands to cup his jaw, her lips caressing softly over his throat and he stiffened, remembering his dream. He pulled away, his heart wrenching at the slight pout she gave him.

"You are still my knight," she said. "I need you by my side. Help me take Hyne's body away from here. She belongs with us, her daughters."

"Hyne is just a beautiful corpse," he told her. "Without her heart—"

"I have her heart," Rinoa cut in. "I took it back from Norg."

"Norg? Rinoa, Seifer is working with him, why are you here with him?"

Rinoa flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled. "Norg is dead my love. I know you wanted to tear out his heart yourself, but I couldn't wait."

Squall's eyes widened and he took a step back. "You? You killed him?" Half of him wanted to jump for joy, but the other half was frozen in shock at how lightheartedly she said it.

"Yes, and if you weren't so busy in trying to have me sealed, you could have joined the fun." Her eyes narrowed.

"Rinoa, please, I did it for your own good."

She pushed his chest, knocking him against the fallen counter. As he grunted in pain at the edge jabbing into his side she climbed over him, her leg stretched out and curled around his hip. "I fail to see how caging me like a wild animal is for my own good. You wouldn't like it if I tried to tame the lion inside you!"

Squall lifted himself up back to his feet. "You fucking killed a man! How was I supposed to know what else you were capable of? And now look, Odine's dead because of you."

Rinoa waved his comment aside and gripped his fists. "Come with me," she whispered. "Let me have Hyne's body."

"She's a corpse, what good will she do you?"

"She blessed the humans with power and they did nothing to thank her. Instead they ostracized their own because of the powers she possessed. Nothing will ever make the humans forget their hatred against the sorceresses. I have tried to prove that I am not like the others and still they hate us and the power we hold! There are even organizations that are trained specifically to _kill_ my kind." She cocked her head pointedly at him. "So if they want to hate my kind, I will give them a valid reason to hate!"

Squall's throat jerked. "You're starting another Sorceress War?" he hissed.

"Yes. I'll still need you to protect me. You're my knight, you vowed to do so!"

"I also need to protect you from yourself!" he roared, swiping his hands out of hers.

He watched as her eyes widened from his remark, and noticed the very faint movement of her eyes glancing behind him. Instinctively he stepped to the side, watching as a thick blade of ice flew into where he was standing. Rinoa's palm was out, forming a thin shield before her, the piercing ice crumbling at impact.

Squall looked to where the icicle had shot from, and he nearly dropped his gunblade. Standing before him was his beloved Matron, her eyes hollow as she moved them to him. "But…you died!" he managed to gasp out. Then, behind her filled in more women and young girls, and he soon recognized them as all the sorceresses who had passed away.

Edea rose her fingers, ice forming around her talons.

Rinoa slid in between them. "Leave him," she ordered the sorceresses.

Squall laughed and straightened his spine. "I thought this was what you wanted—For my blade to pierce your black heart."

Rinoa smiled at him, her eyes flashing dangerously. "That was years ago my love, when I was just a scared and sad little girl." She turned away from him. "I can't…" she whispered. "I can't fight you."

"I can," came a thick voice.

Squall rose up his blade, bearing his teeth as another gunblade collided, sparking against the metal. He pushed forward, sending Seifer against the wall.

"I've been waiting for this," Seifer spat.

Squall said nothing and instead lunged forward.

At the sight of the two fighting, their gunblades shooting and slicing against each other, Rinoa crumbled to her knees, her arms wrapping around her body. Edea was immediately at her side, her cold hands soothing and rubbing her back. The older woman paused, her eyes focusing at the pulsing inside Rinoa's shoulder blades. Rinoa threw her head back and screamed, the pain within her back becoming unbearable.

The two fighting men paused in their attacks, their eyes instantly upon the sorceress. "Rinoa!" Squall shouted.

Rinoa released wheezing breaths, her eyes wide and blank as they stared at the ceiling. Blood began to well up from where her claws pierced into her arms. From the sharp corners of her shoulder blades, red began to seep up from the pores, slowly dribbling out as if from a small cut.

Squall started to charge to her, but Seifer intercepted, both his blade and grin gleaming wickedly. Having no other choice, Squall continued to fight, swinging and ducking, all the while stealing glimpses at his beloved.

Rinoa screamed again, bone rushing out, breaking through her skin. Her bones popped and cracked, shooting out behind her, taking form of skeletal wings.

Squall was knocked to the ground, his gunblade flying from his grip. Before he could turn to his side, Seifer stomped a foot down to his chest. He stared down at him victoriously as he raised his blade. "You still can't win against me!" he shouted.

Before he could stab the blade down, a shot rang out, a bullet soaring through the air, piercing into Seifer's shoulder. He shrieked, dropping the gunblade and falling back.

Squall rolled to the side, lifting his head to see the blade had stabbed into the tile where his head had been. He looked over his shoulder to see who shot and he sucked in a breath when he saw Caraway, his fists steady and tight over the handle of the gun.

But thanks were not in order, for Caraway's attention was now upon his daughter, whose boney wings now became covered with feathers. She gasped, sucking air in and out as the feathers grew faster, the ends white while the very roots were black, and uncurled, fanning out behind her.

Rinoa fell to all fours as her wings, still splattered with her own blood, began to move. She cried out, her back relieved yet so in pain to release the wings that were confined for so long. "Leave the body of our mother here then!" she shouted. She lifted her arm skywards and a blast rippled around her fists, shooting upward and slicing through the ceiling.

Debris of concrete and steel fell to the ground and Squall immediately shielded himself. He yanked his gunblade from the ground and raced over to where Hyne's body was resting, her coffin protecting her from danger.

Edea wrapped her arms around Rinoa and helped her stand, completely unaware of the shouts from her husband. Rinoa looked over her shoulder to Squall, her lips in a wicked grimace. "I will have Hyne's body; I'll do whatever it takes to retrieve her!" She shot her finger in the direction of the sorceresses. "_I said let's go!_" she bellowed to them. The sorceresses obeyed silently and rose themselves into the air, their powers rippling around them.

Rinoa turned her beautifully wicked face back to the furious man. "The end will begin when the sun is directly above the earth, and shadows are no where to be found. If you are not my ally then you have the misfortune of being my enemy. Understand SeeD, this lion will not roar any longer. Soon all of you will feel my pain!!" She flapped her wings and shot herself through the hole she had made.

Squall was left against Hyne's resting body, and he turned to see Caraway coming towards him. Selphie ran around him and leaped onto Squall, grasping him around the shoulders. "Are you alright?" she cried.

"Another Sorceress War," Squall whispered. He lifted his head towards Caraway. "She said that's what she wanted."

Cid stepped forward, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "There is only one sorceress at a time with great power," he said. "Yet, as you all saw, they all had the power to fly."

"What does it mean?" Irvine asked.

With a heavy sigh, Cid rested himself against the broken counter. "Inside that room where the sorceresses who had passed on rested, were bodies of what I can assume were Norg's followers. They were completely drained, their skin rough as if they had been mummified centuries ago. She took their lives and placed them into the sorceresses, in the process giving them power."

"She said we would all feel her pain," Squall murmured.

"She's going to make the ones who hurt her kind suffer, make them feel the pain she and her sisters had felt," Caraway announced, turning to Squall. "Starting with SeeD."

**A/N: Good lord that was a long one!!! And I know that wasn't exactly a "Sorceress War" so I don't want any bitching, I basically made a Sorceress War as a war brought on by the sorceress—holy shit who would have thought??! If anyone's confused let me know, I kinda rushed this one. And Geredian Knight Rhiannon, this one's for you, thanks for giving me the idea of Rinoa's wings coming out!**

**I'll try to get the next chapter up soon but I can't promise much =P**

**PS: Has anyone else seen the teaser trailer for Final Fantasy Dissidia? Squall looks damn sexy! Makes me tempted to get a PSP just for it =)**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N:** WOW...it's been over two years since I've seen this thing! So sorry, I've completely forgotten about it =( Soooo much has happened in the past two years it's insane! Forgive me my darling characters for abandoning you!

And my stories were on my mom's computer when I lived with her and I had moved out to Colorado, and during that time she had gotten a new computer and hard drive, so everything I had written for this story has vanished!

I'm currently moving into my newer apartment in Colorado and once things are up and running I will try to get things posting again! I'm re-reading through the chapters and at the moment I've forgotten where I was going with it but when I'm not as busy I'll be more relaxed and focused and have the creative juices flowing again!

So, if anyone's still reading this...haha...I'm hoping I'll be writing again soon! I'll try not to disappoint!

**xoxox Jen**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Got hit with inspiration while still in town. Enjoy! xoxo**

It had been nearly one month since he had last seen her. And despite the time spent apart, he could feel her menacing glare pierce through his entire being. Her eyes, once a color brown so warm and inviting, had been taken over by the red haze of hatred and blood. The memory of her smile was beginning to waver; it had been too long since he had been graced with it. Instead, the mere mention of her name brought upon the image of her standing before him, hurt and betrayed and covered in blood that was not her own. She hardly seemed herself then. The fun, free-spirited girl who would always attempt to drink him under the table five years ago, or the sultry yet sarcastic woman she had grown into, had become a poisoned heart hell-bent on revenge. She wasn't supposed to be his enemy, she was the woman he loved, the woman who broke him out of his shell and showed him love and friendship…she was the mother of his child.

Squall leaned back against the wall of the observation deck and slowly looked around him. In the past month he had ordered all cadets to be prepared for war. He was hoping the war wouldn't start immediately, what with Rinoa's apparent reigning general having been shot, and was grateful for the delay allowing him some crash courses in training and weapons counseling. Luckily for them, Rinoa had not kept good on her threat. Surrounding him were several cadets covering the night watch, alert and poised and ready for ambush. The Garden's mobility granted them some coverage, so they weren't always in the exact same place. They stayed mostly to the coast, keeping distance from the towns so as not to have innocent bystanders.

Soft footsteps caught Squall's ear and he turned to see Selphie coming towards him with a steaming cup of coffee. She gave him a smile and sat down beside him. "Your coffee, Commander," she said, handing him the Styrofoam cup. He nodded his thanks and after a moment cleared his throat at her. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a brand new pack of cigarettes. She shook them at him in disgust and made a sour face when he snatched them from her fingers. "These things will kill you, you know," she snapped.

"As does everything else," he muttered around his cigarette as he flicked his flame to the tip. He blew out a thick stream of smoke and nodded at her. "Anything new with Hyne?"

Selphie shook her head and glanced around at the students around them. "Nothing really. She appears to be getting some color though." With a wave of her hand she gestured at her face. "Before she looked like…well…_dead…_now she just looks like she's sleeping. But her brain isn't showing any new activity." Selphie shrugged her shoulders and looked over at Squall. "Why don't you ever see her?"

"What? Who?"

"Hyne." Selphie turned to lean her shoulder against the wall and crossed her arms. "Ever since she came into our possession and then when Rinoa left her here, you've avoided Hyne altogether."

Squall frowned and shook his head, his eyes still watching the night sky. "I'm not avoiding her," he said. "I ask what information people have gathered from her and that's it, no need for me to see a corpse."

"She's not a corpse."

"You know what I mean, Selphie."

She grunted in protest and rolled her eyes. "Then, as a favor for me, will you go see her right now?"

Squall shrugged his shoulders and stubbed his cigarette out with his boot. "Why?"

"Humor me."

With an aggravated sigh, Squall turned to face Selphie with a questioning glare. "Why do you think me looking at Hyne will make any difference? Nothing has happened in the last month, we are here waiting on edge for Rinoa's attack. I am Commander and needed up here. I receive full reports of any activity from Hyne from you and everyone else that go see her each day. And since you have just said that there is no new activity, what would I have to gain from seeing her?"

Selphie lifted her shoulders and looked at him. "I don't know, Squall. But you're the only one who hasn't gone to see her. And since you and Rinoa are like…like this" –She held up her two fingers crossed— "And Rinoa and Hyne are like super close too, maybe there's something _you_ would notice that we hadn't?" She stamped her foot in frustration as Squall continued to stare at her in disbelief. "Please, Squall," she begged. "It might be a long shot, it might not, I don't know! But…_fuck!_ We need something!" Tears sprang to her eyes and she turned away on her heels.

Squall was left in astonishment as he watched Selphie storm her way off the deck. He had never before seen a need to see Hyne before, but now, maybe it was a giant leap of faith…maybe it would take them nowhere like everything else they've tried or thought before…or maybe not. With a deep breath, Squall turned and motioned for one of the higher ranking cadets that was on the night watch.

"Yes, Commander!" The cadet stood up and saluted Squall promptly.

"Take watch for me," he told the younger one. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

Squall approached Hyne's room. For a moment he paused at the door, his eyes focused on the door handle. Steadily, he wrapped his fingers around it and turned.

The room inside was a startling white, the walls practically glowed thanks to the fluorescent hospital lights dangling from the ceiling. Rather than the glass coffin she was in for the transportation of her body, Hyne now resided in a peaceful and simple bed. Beside the bed was a beeping machine, a monitor of some sort, Squall avoided it due to his lack of knowledge of technological machinery. In one motion he yanked a rolling chair to the bed and sat, resting his elbows upon the mattress as he studied the sleeping sorceress mother.

She was beautiful, unearthly and exotic. Her thick black hair was gathered to one side, lying in thick waves that traveled down past her waist. Despite the many plastic dots and tubes that surrounded her, she looked calm and peaceful. One arm lay motionless against her side, while the other looked natural resting atop her belly. Her alabaster skin in contrast with her dark locks caused her to look ethereal, even while simply lying in bed. Squall didn't quite understand what Selphie had meant when she mentioned it looked like she was getting some color; the woman was a breathing sculpture of marble.

Squall picked at a ball of lint from the blanket that was drawn up to her collar bone. Twisting his fingers, he rolled the ball and continued collecting more lint from the blanket. "Long shot indeed," he muttered. "What more could I expect from a woman who's been asleep for thousands of years." He looked down at Hyne's sleeping face and wished for an answer Selphie was hoping for. But there was nothing…hardly any movement at all from her breathing.

Squall inhaled deeply and placed a palm over Hyne's hand that lay against her side. "We'll get your heart," he whispered. "Once I get her back." He stood to his feet and turned to depart.

Then, Squall felt lithe fingers wrap a steely grasp around his wrist.

**xXx**

Rinoa collapsed to the ground, her clawed hand fastened over her breast as she struggled to breathe. Beneath her palm she felt her heart thunder and pound madly, threatening to beat out of her ribcage. Hissing in a sharp breath, she let out a swear as she gripped the banister for support.

A firm hand came around her arms and aided her to stand. "You should be resting," Edea said sternly.

Rinoa shook her head and rand her fingers back over her hair. "No," she snarled. "The War has been put off enough."

Edea lightly smacked Rinoa on the back of her head. "Child, you are strong, but you exerted a great deal of power reviving us. You were not fit to go to war immediately after." When Rinoa tried to shrug off Edea's grip again, the older woman tightened her hold. "And you are not fit to go now. Seifer's arm has fully healed and he's able to wield his weapon like before, the women are ready with their powers. But _you_ are not ready. I can probably count the hours you've slept in the past few days on a single hand, you _need_ rest."

Rinoa glared at her and continued to try to free herself.

"You are our mother now," a young girl said softly.

"We are grateful for your reviving us, and giving us some of your power," another woman chimed in.

"But you must regain your strength, mother," came another.

Rinoa looked over the crowd of women who gathered around her. Her sisters, her children…they looked at her as their Hyne, the true mother. They shared blood with her, and knew what was best for her. But still, she wanted out of this Norg's palace. It was stifling, and overly decorated, and it wasn't a place she could call her own. She wanted to see _him._

"Mother?"

Rinoa pulled herself from her thoughts and looked down to the tiny girl that reached for her hand. The girl looked up at her with such endearing, big, blue eyes and held her little fingers up for Rinoa in such a heart aching manner. Rinoa scooped the child into her arms and lightly kissed her forehead.

"Get some rest," Edea repeated, gently taking the child from Rinoa and held her against her own breast.

Defeated, Rinoa turned away and slowly headed up the stairs. She reached her chambers and locked the door tightly. Before succumbing to her bed, she paused before the lavishly adorned iron mirror that hung on the wall. As she stared at her reflection, her fingertips softly grazed over the inky black that branched up from between her breasts. Now that the poison was no longer being injected, the branches had slowly stopped spreading. The black veins wrapped up around her throat, just barely reaching her jawline. Her eyes were no longer a rich brown but a sickening red that seemed to flare out from her iris, threatening to take over. "What will you think when you see me?" she whispered. She placed her palm on the wall behind the mirror and breathed out a deep breath as she lowered her forehead onto the cool glass. "You promised…" Sucking in any cries that might escape, she turned away from the mirror for the bed.

But the cuff around her wrist caught in one of the wrought iron scrolls that adorned the mirror, keeping her in place and forcing her to turn back. She stared at the cuff in confusion, and reached with her free hand to loosen it from the metal scroll. She gasped when she noticed that the scrolls seemed to be moving, entwining with the cuff around her wrist to keep her in place. One iron loop undid itself, unraveling into a sharpened point and stabbed itself into meat of her palm. In horror she looked up at the mirror, nearly losing her breath at the face she saw within.

**xXx**

Squall stared down the fingers that were wrapped around his wrist in a grip so tight he could feel his skin being pierced by the fingernails. Frantic, he looked at the monitor hooked up to Hyne, which started beeping uncontrollably. He moved his gaze to her face, which still looked as peaceful as ever. "The fuck is going on?" he shouted, trying to pry her fingers from him. He dug his fingernails around hers, hissing as blood welled up from her piercing points. As he struggled with her vice-like grip, he heard a sharp gasp and a sudden chill ran over him.

He glanced up to wall before him. Once completely bare, it now had a faint image of a woman wafting over it. Even though the image was little more than fogged mist, he recognized her instantly. The pain from Hyne's nails drawing blood was completely forgotten, and he dropped his captured wrist back onto the bed. Her name formed on his lips but her misty image wavered as if she were shaking her head.

"_You promised me…"_ he heard her whisper, so light, so airy, as if inside his mind. _"Even if the world became my enemy, you would be my Knight," _she hissed.

"Please," Squall said, reaching his free hand for the mist. "Come back to me." The mist seemed to solidify a bit, gracing Squall with a clearer image of her. Her hair hung down around her shoulders, her eyes wet and lips pinched as she stared at him. She looked how he had always remembered her, sweet, vulnerable, stubborn…the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. No marks marred her body, no hatred burned inside her eyes. Swirling around her were gentle tendrils of snowflakes, some catching in her hair, white crystals standing out against the black of her mane. "Please," he begged again. "Rin—"

"_No!"_ The image of her shattered like glass at the sudden howl, replaced by a suffocating heat that burned and surrounded Squall's body. He fell to his knees, his throat clenching at the stifling air.

The new image of her came forth, eyes flaring red and sharp teeth bared. Black hair billowed around her as power flew from her ghastly image. _"No! She's__** gone**__ you promised__** promised**__ her you'd be her Knight! __**You can't have her back!**__"_

The firing heat surrounding Squall dissipated and he managed to his feet. She was looking at him with such anger, such vehemence it nearly stilled his heart. The muscles in her throat stood out, tensing and throbbing with each growl, the dip at the bottom of her neck deepened, her jaw clenched, her brows furrowed, and the red within her eyes scorched through his soul.

Despite the rage and fire, she looked…hollow.

Hyne's fingers released Squall's wrist, causing the fiery image to vanish, leaving Squall alone in a deafening quiet room with a sleeping Goddess. Squall didn't quite understand what had happened, but he couldn't forget what he had seen. He saw what he had always known her to be, and now he's seen what she has become.

She wasn't his anymore.

"Squall!"

He turned to Selphie and Zell running up to him. "What the hell happened?" Zell shouted. "Shit was going crazy for a minute!"

Squall shook his head, not even sure where to begin in trying to tell them what had just happened before his very eyes.

"Holy shit!" Selphie placed her hands on the monitor hooked up to Hyne and gasped. "What did you do to her, Squall!"

"Squall?" Zell frowned as he watched the Commander continue to step backwards until he hit the wall. "Squall!" Zell caught him by the biceps and helped steady him. "Selphie, get me a chair."

"But Hyne—"

"Fuckin do it!"

Selphie sucked in a breath and grabbed the chair Squall had previously been sitting in. She arched it around to Squall's side and helped Zell bring him down. "What's going on?" she whispered. "Squall, what happened?" While Squall continued to just shake his head, his blue eyes staring a hole straight into the ground, Selphie gently took his hand and looked at the blood that had started to dry. After seeing the crescent imprints in his flesh, she glanced over to Hyne's hand and flinched at the red that still stained her fingernails.

Zell gave Squall's shoulder a slow yet firm shake. "Hyne did this? Squall, the fuck happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Squall lifted his eyes from the ground, zeroing in instantly to the sleeping Goddess in the bed. "I saw her," he said. Zell and Selphie glanced at each other briefly, their eyes locking in knowledge at whom exactly this 'her' was. "For a moment she was there, like she used to be, and the second I start saying her name she turned into this…_being_ that is not her."

With a quick sigh he stood to his feet and headed towards the door.

"Wait!" Zell hurried after him, practically dragging Selphie behind him. "Wait…so what now? What is going on?"

"I think I know where she is."

Selphie bobbed her head as she tried to keep up with the men whose much longer legs gave them quicker strides. "Ok…still doesn't answer the whole what the fuck now!" She growled in aggravation as Squall abruptly turned the corner and headed towards the elevator for the navigation deck. "Squall! Dammit, answer me!"

As they entered the elevator, and before Squall could jab his fist onto a button, Zell grabbed a fistful of Squall's shirt and slammed him against the glass. "What happened to you in there? What did you see?"

"Hopefully her delay of attack means that they still haven't completely recovered. If we can get to where I think she is before her full recovery, we'll have a stronger chance than before."

Selphie restrained herself from clawing at Squall's face. "The hell, Squall?"

"Snow, she's somewhere with snow. That narrows it down severely."

Zell released Squall's shirt and stepped back. "You want to ambush her?"

"It might be the only choice we have. We know magic, but our power is mainly in our arsenal. The longer we wait, the longer they have to strengthen their forces. And a gunshot wound, depending on how severe it is, shouldn't be completely healed by now, so their main source of weaponry is slightly deflated."

"An ambush," Zell repeated.

"I want as little casualties as possible, but my men are the ones I hold in upmost priority."

Selphie chewed her lip. "Even…even over Rinoa?"

Squall looked over to her with his face steely and cold, his fists in balls at his hips. His eyes softened for a moment as he remembered her playful smile, her soft hair and her lush skin. His heart felt like a cold pit, heavy and sinking deep within the confines of his chest. "You have to understand, Selphie," he whispered, and he quickly turned his eyes to Zell. "Same to you, Zell, and everyone else aboard here. What we know about…her, what we've always known, is no longer there. I saw her; I saw what she is now. She has no empathy, no remorse…she is now nothing but a being of complete and utter hatred. She's been consumed wholly by the poison."

"But if we find an antidote—"

"We don't even know what the poison is or where it came from, Selphie," Squall cut in. "Even if we did, we need Hyne's heart in order to heal her and the rest of the women. She won't stop with just us, you know this, she knew this…she knew the chaos that would ensue if her powers came out of control. That power is out now, she can't stop it, and with what I have just seen in that room…she doesn't want to. I'm sorry, Selphie, but I don't see much of any other choice."

Selphie swallowed, rapidly swiping away a tear that started to fall from her eye. She nodded slowly. "You're right," she breathed shakily. "I wish you weren't…but fucking hell you're right." Another tear quickly slid out as Zell placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"I don't like this any more than you do," Squall muttered. "But the sooner we all accept it the better. She's not Rinoa anymore." His voice cracked slightly at the mention of her name. "She's something else, something that our Rinoa would have rather died than becoming." He pressed the button on the panel to open the door. "Now, relay the message and alert those from other watches who are sleeping, we leave now." He nodded his head in the direction of the audience outside the elevator they had gathered.

Zell and Selphie exited and watched him go up towards the navigation deck. Selphie stifled a cry and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I can't believe he's planning on killing her."

Zell shook his head and clenched his fists as Squall left his view. "No," he murmured. "He's setting her free."


End file.
